Posted on 04/02/2006 9:24:35 AM PDT by BenLurkin
EDWARDS AFB - A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle known as N-1 took off from Edwards' main runway Monday evening on a one-way mission to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
The N-1, an RQ-4A Global Hawk - one of two acquired by the U.S. Navy through the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration Program - is the first of its kind delivered to the Navy and is being prepared for participation in the Navy's Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2006.
The delivery was enabled by the installation of a launch and recovery element at Patuxent River that allows the Navy to begin and end missions at its own airfield. Before this installation, all Navy work had to originate from Edwards, Colonel Cook said.
Prior to its flight to the East Coast, the aircraft was deemed safe for flight in national airspace by a military airworthiness certificate accomplished by the Global Vigilance Combined Test Force here, a first for an unmanned system.
"Airworthiness certification is a critical step to any new aircraft, but probably even more so in an unmanned aircraft program because it tells the various stakeholders in the aviation community that the Global Hawk system meets the accepted standards to operate as an aircraft," said Tony Kaiser, 412th Test Wing project manager for Global Hawk. "The flight testing of the original YR-4A and production RQ-4A aircraft supported the airworthiness certification."
Flight testing of the RQ-4A Global Hawk was accomplished here to evaluate the performance of sensor modifications for the Navy. These modifications were developed beginning in 2001 when the Global Hawk program, in association with the Australian government, developed maritime modes for the Global Hawk's Synthetic Aperture Radar.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Thanks!
Naval, eh? Global Hawk has a wingspan of 114 feet. How well does that work on a carrier -- or any other ship?
Global Hawk is one awsome machine!
The fore runner of athe UCAV XF-45B.
It will be a great world when fools declare war on us and we send machines to do our fighting. Why should our young folk be at risk due to other countries stupidity?
The Navy is looking at the Global Hawk to augment the MMA aircraft, the follow on to the P-3. It will operate from land and patrol autonomously. It will be able to be controlled from ships, provided the ships are equipped with ground control stations.
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