Global Hawks Wrap Up Opeval Flights

United States Air Force photo by Stacey Knott

By DAVE MAJUMDAR DefenceNews

Published: 25 Jan 2011 17:39

The U.S. Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude jet-powered UAV completed its operational test flights in December, a senior Air Force official said. Analysts are currently poring though data gathered during the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) flights, and a final report is due to Air Combat Command in March, the officer said in a Jan. 25 e-mail. The Global Hawk fleet is expected to begin operations at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in April after the IOT&E results are officially certified, the senior official said. Asked for comment, Air Force program officials confirmed only that a final report is due to Air Combat Command in March. Northrop Grumman officials declined to comment because the Air Force has not officially announced that the RQ-4 has completed its test phase. Northrop is the prime contractor for the Global Hawk.