New Tests for one of the World’s Largest Drones

New Tests for one of the World’s Largest Drones

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Global Hawk, one of the world’s largest drones, collects intelligence and transmits it to ground stations via satellite * The drone’s capabilities were demonstrated in a series of tests conducted by the U.S. Air Force

Global Hawk UAV

The U.S. Air Force Global Hawk intelligence gathering drone recently completed a series of tests focused on the UAV’s autonomous satellite communication capabilities, which do not depend on routine communication channels.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is one of the largest unmanned aerial vehicles in the world. These latest tests were conducted at the Beale U.S. Air Force base in California, in cooperation with Northrop-Grumman, the drone’s manufacturer. A few satellite communications configurations have been tested, without changing any of the software, hardware or payloads involved.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

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The Global Hawk flew for a total of 110,000 hours so far. Its payloads include a variety of sensors for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, providing military commanders with real time, accurate information. The UAV also incorporates a targeting radar capable of tracking mobile and stationary targets, on the ground and at sea.

This unmanned aerial vehicle was designed for missions such as assisting the war on terror, disaster relief, piracy prevention, aerial communications and special missions, in which the Global Hawk operates alongside other organizations.