Meet The Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk – America’s Biggest UAV

Meet The Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk – America’s Biggest UAV

Meet the United States Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk, this definitely isn’t your run of the mill remote controlled drone. This bad boy has a wingspan of 130.9 feet, which is actually longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 757 (124.6 feet). The Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk is America’s biggest UAV flying regular missions – as of 2015 – but don’t think that only America has these. The Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk is powered by a single Rolls-Royce F137-RR-100 turbofan engine that gives it a cruising speed of 357 miles per hour, a maximum range of 14,154 miles  and maximum altitude of 60,000 feet. The Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk performs pretty much the same duties as the Lockheed U-2. By using a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar, long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors as well as long loiter times over target areas – the Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk can survey as much as 40,000 square miles of terrain in one day. Check out Ameirca’s newest gunship.

Specifications:
Wingspan ………………………………….­……………. 130.9 ft
Length ………………………………….­……………………… 47.6 ft
Height ………………………………….­…………………………. 15.4 ft
Gross Takeoff Weight ………………… 32,250 lbs
Maximum Altitude …………………………….. 60,000 ft
Payload ………………………………….­………….. 3,000 lbs
Ferry Range ………………………………… 12,300 nm
Loiter Velocity ……………….. 310 knots TAS (True Air Speed)
On-Station Endurance at 1,200 nm ………………………. 24 hrs
Maximum Endurance ………………………………….­………… 32+ hrs