RQ-4 Global Hawk High-Altitude Long-Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Family
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft family developed for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Its autonomous takeoff and landing, distributed launch-and-recovery and mission-control architecture, and long-duration sensor coverage helped establish a major modern uncrewed-aircraft design lineage. RQ-4A, RQ-4B, EQ-4, and allied RQ-4D variants remain one family while preserving their operational configuration differences.
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Identity
- Aliases
- RQ-4 Global HawkRQ-4A Global HawkRQ-4B Global HawkEQ-4BGlobal Hawk
- Family Name
- Northrop RQ-4 Global Hawk
- Full Name
- RQ-4 Global Hawk High-Altitude Long-Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Family
- Roles
- militaryreconnaissancetechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- active
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Endurance Hours
- 34
- Max Payload Mass Kg
- 1,360
- Max Takeoff Mass Kg
- 14,628
- Operating Modes
- land
- Service Ceiling M
- 18,288
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft family developed for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Its autonomous takeoff and landing, distributed launch-and-recovery and mission-control architecture, and long-duration sensor coverage helped establish a major modern uncrewed-aircraft design lineage. RQ-4A, RQ-4B, EQ-4, and allied RQ-4D variants remain one family while preserving their operational configuration differences.
- Dimensions
- Height M
- 4.7
- Length M
- 14.5
- Wingspan M
- 39.8
- First Flight Year
- 1,998
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 8, 2026 at 00:16:28 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 8, 2026 at 00:16:28 UTC