The last UAV which I wrote about were the MQ-1 Predator, and the MQ-9 Reaper manufactured by GA-AIS. The UAV which I will talk about today is another american built model, but one of a somewhat different breed. The RQ-4 Global Hawk, manufactured by Northrop Grumman is an unarmed UAV intended only for the reconnaissance role in combat. Many of you will ask, why does this UAV serve the same task as the MQ-1 and 9? Especially when they have their extremely long range and endurance? The answer is simple, the MQ-4 takes the lessons learned from those aircraft in their use in combat, and is simply better in the pure recon role, as opposed the the hunter/killer role the other UAVs play.
In order to truly understand this difference we must look at the UAVs themselves.
On the top is the RQ-4, and below it is the MQ-9. The ground crewman serve to aid in the judging of scale.
The difference in powerplant is very noticable, with the RQ-4 being jet powered, and the MQ-9 being propeller driven. In addition the RQ-4 has a overall length of 44ft 5in, wingspan of 116ft 2 in, and a height of 15ft 2in; compared to the MQ-9's 36 ft, 66 ft and 12.5 ft respectively.
The difference in size however is not the only thing which causes the RQ-4 to stand out. In operations the RQ-4, aka Global Hawk, flies at an average altitude of 65,000 feet. To put this into perspective a commercial jet flies at around 30,000 feet, and the MQ-9 flies at about 25,000 feet. In addition to the high altitude from which this aircraft operates at, it can fly up to 15,525 miles, over half way around the globe, in one flight without refueling. During a one day period the RQ-4 can survey up to 40,000 square miles, roughly about the size of Kentucky. The operational duration and endurance of the Global Hawk is also greater than the RQ-9's by 8 hours, while retaining a higher top speed and altitude.
How does this UAV play into our "death of distance"? The RQ-4 can fly across half of the globe in a single flight, and it must be in constant contact with it's base. This poses a problem as radio, and other communication signals travel in a straight line while our earth is round... The solution for this is to use communication satellites to relay signals to the aircraft so it is never out of contact with its pilot. The use of satellites allows the controller to potentially be on the other side of the world, with a UAV flying a mission over Iraq while being controlled from a base in the United States. In addition while the aircraft is being controlled from halfway around the globe it is constantly streaming back live footage of what it is seeing, literally putting commanders in view of their front lines or even behind enemy lines from thousands of miles away. Effectively cutting the distance between the commanders and their troops operating in the field.
An additional photo of the RQ-4 for perspective
This is a video which provides additional information on the RQ-4 Global Hawk
I liked this post. It was intersting to see you connect the airplane to the need for global communication. I never thought about how important a global network of communications satellites must be until reading this. Thanks:D
ReplyDeleteGlobal Air Surveillance is a very interesting idea. It's great because it allows us to monitor areas that would otherwise be impossible to monitor. I'm curious to know exactly how much technology these devices have and are close to obtaining in the near future. I think that is along with any military information is something the public shouldn't know for national security reasons, but I also wonder if the money they are spending on technology like this is worth it for the return. I like to think so.
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