SAN DIEGO, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The first
completed Global Hawk has made history again with its
100th flight in support of NASA environmental research.
The milestone occurred on a flight from Edwards Air Force Base in
California more than 16 years
after its first flight in 1998. The aircraft is now at Wallops
Island for a two month deployment to conduct hurricane research
missions.
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=27282.
The aircraft, called AV1, was the first RQ-4 Global Hawk built
under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Advanced Concept
Technology Demonstrator program. Ryan Aeronautical Company built
and tested the UAS, later acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation
(NYSE: NOC).
After completing production in February
1997, the aircraft underwent rigorous testing culminating in
a successful first flight on Feb. 28,
1998. Due to restrictions preventing the aircraft from
taking off in San Diego, the first
flight required the Global Hawk to be disassembled and shipped in
pieces to Edwards Air Force Base for reassembly and first
flight.
While still a developmental system, Global Hawk began supporting
overseas contingency operations only two months after the
September 11, 2001 attacks. Global
Hawks continue to support combat and other important operations all
over the world.
After acquiring two pre-production Global Hawks from the Air
Force, NASA and Northrop Grumman entered in to the Space Act
Agreement. The partnership, signed in 2008, allows sharing of NASA
Global Hawks for science missions and flight demonstrations. Under
the agreement, Northrop Grumman provides technical, engineering,
maintenance and operations support.
With the ability to fly as high as 65,000 feet for periods of 30
hours, Global Hawks provide a combination of high altitude and long
endurance performance capabilities that allow the science community
to study scientific and environmental phenomena in depth.
In April 2010, NASA sent AV1 on
its first scientific mission to study the atmosphere over the
Pacific Ocean. Fitted with 11 science instruments, the Global Hawk
acquired and transmitted data that had never been seen before. Over
the course of four flights and 82.5 cumulative flight hours, the
aircraft traveled from Hawaii to
Alaska collecting air, water and
polar ice data.
Since AV1's first mission, NASA Global Hawks have flown missions
all over the globe in support of environmental and scientific
studies.
In the fall of 2012, AV1 supported environmental scientists
during Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) missions. The HS3
missions studied the processes of hurricane formation and intensity
change in the Atlantic Ocean. Prior to HS3, AV1 flew winter storm
missions over the Pacific and Arctic, observing an "atmospheric
river," which sometimes causes flooding on the West Coast. NASA
Global Hawks have also studied climate change and the effect of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In addition to scientific and environmental research, AV1
participated in cutting edge technology demonstrations. Both NASA
Global Hawks were used in a series of DARPA demonstrations used to
advance UAS-to-UAS aerial refueling control system technology in
2012.
In 2013, the Space Act Agreement was renewed for an additional
five years, allowing NASA Global Hawks to continue to explore
remote parts of the planet and investigate environmental and
scientific events.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation