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
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Variant Notes
- Rolls-Royce identifies the AE 3007H as the single engine used by the Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk; the U.S. Air Force identifies the same AE 3007H/F-137 powerplant on the RQ-4 Global Hawk. Placement and stage are left unspecified because these sources do not state them.
- Name
- RQ-4 Global Hawk AE3007H installation
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 8, 2026 at 00:16:28 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 15, 2026 at 16:47:14 UTC