RQ-4 Global Hawk

High-altitude, unarmed strategic reconnaissance UAV — the U.S. Air Force's persistent global ISR backbone, flying extended-duration missions from a handful of overseas bases.

Overview

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) uncrewed aerial vehicle designed exclusively for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Operated primarily by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), it carries no weapons and instead packs a large internal sensor suite — synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical/infrared cameras, and signals intelligence payloads. The Northrop Grumman-built aircraft has been in continuous service since the early 2000s, with variants fielded by the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) force (RQ-4D) and the Republic of Korea Air Force, while a maritime derivative, the MQ-4C Triton, serves the U.S. Navy and Australia.

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