Big UAV All Set to Begin Further Flight Demonstrations

A U.S. Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV) landed in Germany Wednesday to begin a key airborne ground surveillance flight demonstration program for the German Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Equipped with an EADS-produced electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensor, the Northrop Grumman-produced UAV touched down at the German navy's Nordholz Air Base near Cuxhaven at approximately 04:05 local time. The arrival followed a 20-hour, 53-minute flight across the Atlantic from Edwards Air Force Base (CA).

Over the next three weeks, a test team from EADS, Northrop Grumman and the Air Force will conduct several flights of the ELINT-sensor-equipped UAV to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using UAVs to perform high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) wide-area surveillance (WAS) missions. A successful test program could lead to a decision by the German MoD to develop and produce a Global Hawk-derived sensor platform called Euro Hawk(tm) to satisfy its HALE WAS mission requirements.

Proposed by Northrop Grumman and EADS as a HALE WAS solution, Euro Hawk will be based on the RQ-4B model Global Hawk and will carry an EADS-developed sensor package. The German MoD currently uses conventional manned platforms to perform ELINT missions.

Prior to its deployment to Nordholz, the EADS ELINT-sensor-equipped Global Hawk performed several successful test flights in the U.S. EADS developed the ELINT sensor as a company-funded project.

The arrival of Global Hawk represents the latest milestone in a trans-Atlantic cooperative project between the German MoD and the Air Force that began in October 2001. The goals of the bilateral project are to introduce a UAV to European-controlled airspace and demonstrate how UAVs can be used to conduct HALE WAS missions. The agreement includes operation of the HALE air vehicle, ELINT sensor integration and the flight demonstration program.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com; www.eads.com