The Global Hawk At Grand Forks AFB, ND -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With the Bakken

The Global Hawk at Grand Forks AFB, ND

Some things stick in my craw.

One of those things is when someone tells me that North Dakota doesn't have a diverse enough economy to stay relevant going forward. I've discussed this at length on two recent postings, so I won't go through the litany again.

But, in the process of checking out some of the things going on in North Dakota, I came across the USAF Global Hawk program. Back in the recesses of my mind I was aware of this, I suppose, but I had completely forgotten about it.

The Global Hawk program is perhaps one of the biggest projects in America's surveillance toolbox -- at least of those projects that one can talk about.

According to wiki:

In role and operational design, the Global Hawk is similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to provide a broad overview and systematic target surveillance. For this purpose, the Global Hawk is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms— and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (103,600 square kilometers) of terrain a day.

It is used as a high-altitude platform for surveillance and security. Missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities.

It is an incredible aerial platform to say the least.

As noted earlier, I was assigned to Air Combat Command when this platform was being designed, tested, and employed.

In an unusual move, the aircraft entered initial low-rate production concurrently while still in engineering and manufacturing development. Nine production Block 10 aircraft (sometimes referred to as RQ-4A configuration) were produced, two of which were sold to the US Navy. Two more were sent to Iraq to support operations there. The final Block 10 aircraft was delivered on June 26, 2006.

Note: those were Block 10 (first version).

The most recent version is Block 40:

In order to increase the aircraft's capabilities, the airframe was redesigned, with the nose section and wings being stretched. The changes, with the designation RQ-4B Block 20, allow the aircraft to carry up to 3,000 pounds of internal payload. These changes were introduced with the first Block 20 aircraft, the 17th Global Hawk produced, which was rolled out in a ceremony on August 25, 2006. First flight of the Block 20 from the USAF Plant 42 in Palmdale, California to Edwards Air Force Base took place on March 1, 2007. Developmental testing of Block 20 took place in 2008. Future Block 30 and 40 aircraft, similar in size to the Block 20, are scheduled for development from 2008 to 2010. When the Global Hawk was produced it was in a sale plan for more than 5 countries including USA and Germany.

Incredibly, Grand Forks AFB was selected to be one of the very few US bases to take on the Global Hawk mission. That is huge. Absolutely huge.

Data points, records:

• Official world endurance record for unmanned aerial vehicles, at 30 hours, 24 minutes
• Absolute altitude record of 65,381 feet (still holds the record in its class)
• Non-stop flight from Edwards AFB, California, to RAAF Base Edinburgh, Australia: the first pilotless aircraft to crss the Pacific Ocean; 22 hours; record for absolute distance: 8,200 miles)
• Through February, 2010: 1,500 sorties, 30,000 combat hours in Central Command (Mideast)

Back in June, 2011, "Grand Forks AFB Airmen Welcome Global Hawk."

Airmen celebrated the arrival of the RQ-4 Global Hawk during a ceremony here June 1.

The ceremony highlighted the beginning of a new era of remotely piloted aircraft here.

This brings back some great memories. Except when I was on leave (vacation), I was at work seven days/week without fail when in the USAF, for 30 years, and not once did I feel like it was work. Yes, there were days that I did not enjoy, and a few days I did not look forward to, but looking back, it never felt like work. The camaraderie was awesome. The missions were outstanding. I envy the folks that are part of the Global Hawk mission at Grand Forks AFB.

Media gallery for the Grand Forks AFB Global Hawk.