Recently, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk has gained distinction as
the largest and most expensive UAV currently in operation for the Department of
Defense. This large UAV incorporates a diverse surveillance payload with
performance capabilities that rival or exceed most manned spy planes. The Global
Hawk's surveillance achievements in demonstrations and over the battlefield have
led many to believe that the RQ-4A and its successor, the RQ-4B, play an important
role in the future of ISR. However, the complex task of adding specific intelligence
systems to the payload configuration has helped to keep this high altitude, long
endurance UAV from advancing beyond developmental stage despite extensive
operational deployment. Many Pentagon officials and Congressional members have
become increasingly concerned with the program's burgeoning cost and have
subsequently slowed development progress until adequate program controls are
implemented.138
System Characteristics. At 44 feet long and weighing 26, 750 lbs, Global
Hawk is about as large as a medium sized corporate jet. Global Hawk flies at nearly
twice the altitude of commercial airliners and can stay aloft at 65,000 feet for as long
as 35 hours. It can fly to a target area 5,400 nautical miles away, loiter at 60,000 feet
while monitoring an area the size of that state of Illinois for 24 hours, and then return.
Global Hawk was originally designed to be an autonomous drone capable of taking
off, flying, and landing on pre-programmed inputs to the UAV's flight computer. Air
Force operators have found, however, that the UAV requires frequent intervention
by remote operators.139 The RQ-4B resembles the RQ-4A, yet features a significantly
larger airframe. In designing the B-model, Northrop Grumman increased the Global
Hawk's length from 44 feet to 48 feet and its wingspan from 116 feet to 132 feet.
The expanded size enables the RQ-4B to carry an extra 1000 lbs. of surveillance
payload.
Mission and Payload. The Global Hawk UAV has been called "the theater
commander's around-the-clock, low-hanging (surveillance) satellite."140 The UAV
provides a long-dwell presence over the battlespace, giving military commanders a
persistent source of high quality imagery that has proven valuable in surveillance and
interdiction operations. The RQ-4A's current imagery payload consists of a 2,000-lb
integrated suite of sensors much larger than those found on the Predator. These
sensors include an all-weather SAR with Moving Target Indicator (MTI) capability,
an E-O digital camera and an IR sensor. As the result of a January 2002 Air Force
requirements summit, Northrop Grumman expanded its payload to make it a multi-
intelligence air vehicle. The subsequent incarnation, the RQ-4B, is outfitted with an
open-system architecture that enables the vehicle to carry multiple payloads, such as
signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensors.
Furthermore, the classified Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program
(MP-RTIP) payload will be added in order to increase radar capabilities. These new
sensor packages will enable operators to eavesdrop on radio transmissions or to
identify enemy radar from extremely high altitudes. Future plans include adding
hyper-spectral sensors for increased imagery precision and incorporating laser
communications to expand information transfer capabilities.141 The end goal is to
field a UAV that will work with space-based sensors to create a "staring net" that will
prevent enemies from establishing a tactical surprise.142 In August of 2003, the
Federal Aviation Administration granted the Global Hawk authorization to fly in
U.S. civilian airspace, which further expanded the vehicles' mission potential.143 This
distinction, in combination with the diverse surveillance capabilities, has led many
officials outside the Pentagon to consider the Global Hawk an attractive candidate
for anti-drug smuggling and Coast Guard operations.144 Documentation from the
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) indicates that the RQ-4A is expected to
reach initial operational capability (IOC) in 2006.145
Program Status. Developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation of Palmdale,
CA, Global Hawk entered low-rate-initial-production in February 2002. The Air
Force has stated that it intends to acquire 51 Global Hawks, at an expected cost of
$6.6 billion for development and procurement costs. Currently, the Air Force
possesses 12 RQ-4A vehicles. According to the most recent Select Acquisition
Report, the current program-unit cost for the Global Hawk has reached $128.7
million.146 In April 2005, the Air Force reported to Congress that the program had
overrun by 18% as a result of an "increasing aircraft capacity to accommodate
requirements for a more sophisticated, integrated imagery and signals intelligence
senor suite".147 A Government Accountability Office Report in December 2004
noted that the program had increased by nearly $900 million since 2001 and
recommended delaying the purchase of future Global Hawks until an appropriate
development strategy could be implemented.148 The rising costs of the UAV and
accusations of Air Force mismanagement have caused concern among many in
Congress and in the Pentagon as well as facilitating an overall debate on the Air
Force's development strategy.149 The Conferees of the FY2005 Defense
Authorization Bill [House Report 108-767] admonished the Air Force's management
strategy for not using previously authorized funds for a counter-drug surveillance
evaluation program. They noted that "the committee suspects the Air Force used the
$18.0 million set aside in 2001 for the counter-drug demonstration to meet other
requirements of the Global Hawk development program".150 As a result, the
Conferees recommended a cut of $18 million to the President's R&D request for the
Global Hawk. The final appropriation bill [Public Law 108-335] cut the R&D
request by six million dollars. In June of 2004, the House Appropriations Committee
expressed serious concern over Air Force's accelerated development strategy and
consequently cut the president's budget request for advanced procurement by $21.3
million and current year procurement by $89.86 million.151 The current year
procurement cut transferred one RQ-4A to the Navy for FY2005. Neither of the cuts
survived conference and the Air Force's procurement budget request was fully
funded for FY2005. In December 2004, Michael Wynne, acting Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisitions, emphasized that DoD would not purchase UAVs that cost
as much as manned aircraft of equivalent capabilities. Of the Global Hawk, Wynne
noted that the vehicle had gone from being "relatively inexpensive to [where it] now
approaches what we have paid for some bombers in the past".152 As a result of
increasing cost criticism, the Air Force devised a plan in early 2005 intended to
restructure the Global Hawk program in an effort to facilitate IOC by the end of
2005. The House Appropriations Committee cut the President's FY2006 current year
procurement request by $110 million, advance procurement request by $10 million
and increased Global Hawk R&D by $21 million. Final appropriations and
authorizations await the Senate Defense Appropriations and Senate Defense
Authorization (S. 1042, Senate Armed Services Committee Report 109-69) bills. See
Table 9 for a complete overview of FY2005 and FY2006 funding.
Endnotes
138
For the most recent Congressional concerns, see House Report 109-89. House Armed
Service Committee "National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2006." May 20,
2005, p. 91.
139
Jeff Morrison. "USAF No Longer Viewing Global Hawk As An Autonomous System,
Official Says." Aerospace Daily, December 3rd, 2005.
140
Glenn W. Goodman, Jr. "UAVs Come Of Age." The ISR Journal, July 2002.
141
David A. Fulghum. "Global Hawk Shows Off Updated Package of Sensor Aviation Week & Space
Technology." Aviation Week Intelligence Network. September 08, 2003.
142
Ibid.
143
Sue Baker. "FAA Authorizes Global Hawk Flights." Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs,
August 21, 2003.
144
Ron Laurenzo. "Global Hawk Scouts Ahead for Other UAVs." DEFENSE WEEK, September 2,
2003.
145
OSD. UAS Roadmap 2005-2030. August 2005, p. 6.
146
OSD. Selected Acquisition Report. December 31, 2004, p. 11.
147
James R. Asker. "Global Hawk 18% Over Budget." Aviation Week & Space Technology, April
25, 2005.
148
United States Government Accountability Office. GAO-05-6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Changes
in Global Hawk's Acquisition Strategy Are Needed to Reduce Program Risks. November 2004, p.
3-4.
149
See House Report 109-89. House Armed Service Committee "National Defense Authorization Act
for the Fiscal Year 2006." May 20, 2005, p. 91.
150
U.S. Congress, 108th Congress, 2nd Session, Committee of Conference, Ronald W. Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, House Report 108-767, p.209-210.
151
See House Report 108-553, accompanying H.R. 4613, 108th Congress, June 18th 2004, p. 193-194.
152
Dave Ahearn. "Northrop Grumman Defends $30 Million Global Hawk Cost." Defense Today.
December 17, 2004.
Defense. This large UAV incorporates a diverse surveillance payload with
performance capabilities that rival or exceed most manned spy planes. The Global
Hawk's surveillance achievements in demonstrations and over the battlefield have
led many to believe that the RQ-4A and its successor, the RQ-4B, play an important
role in the future of ISR. However, the complex task of adding specific intelligence
systems to the payload configuration has helped to keep this high altitude, long
endurance UAV from advancing beyond developmental stage despite extensive
operational deployment. Many Pentagon officials and Congressional members have
become increasingly concerned with the program's burgeoning cost and have
subsequently slowed development progress until adequate program controls are
implemented.138
System Characteristics. At 44 feet long and weighing 26, 750 lbs, Global
Hawk is about as large as a medium sized corporate jet. Global Hawk flies at nearly
twice the altitude of commercial airliners and can stay aloft at 65,000 feet for as long
as 35 hours. It can fly to a target area 5,400 nautical miles away, loiter at 60,000 feet
while monitoring an area the size of that state of Illinois for 24 hours, and then return.
Global Hawk was originally designed to be an autonomous drone capable of taking
off, flying, and landing on pre-programmed inputs to the UAV's flight computer. Air
Force operators have found, however, that the UAV requires frequent intervention
by remote operators.139 The RQ-4B resembles the RQ-4A, yet features a significantly
larger airframe. In designing the B-model, Northrop Grumman increased the Global
Hawk's length from 44 feet to 48 feet and its wingspan from 116 feet to 132 feet.
The expanded size enables the RQ-4B to carry an extra 1000 lbs. of surveillance
payload.
Mission and Payload. The Global Hawk UAV has been called "the theater
commander's around-the-clock, low-hanging (surveillance) satellite."140 The UAV
provides a long-dwell presence over the battlespace, giving military commanders a
persistent source of high quality imagery that has proven valuable in surveillance and
interdiction operations. The RQ-4A's current imagery payload consists of a 2,000-lb
integrated suite of sensors much larger than those found on the Predator. These
sensors include an all-weather SAR with Moving Target Indicator (MTI) capability,
an E-O digital camera and an IR sensor. As the result of a January 2002 Air Force
requirements summit, Northrop Grumman expanded its payload to make it a multi-
intelligence air vehicle. The subsequent incarnation, the RQ-4B, is outfitted with an
open-system architecture that enables the vehicle to carry multiple payloads, such as
signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensors.
Furthermore, the classified Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program
(MP-RTIP) payload will be added in order to increase radar capabilities. These new
sensor packages will enable operators to eavesdrop on radio transmissions or to
identify enemy radar from extremely high altitudes. Future plans include adding
hyper-spectral sensors for increased imagery precision and incorporating laser
communications to expand information transfer capabilities.141 The end goal is to
field a UAV that will work with space-based sensors to create a "staring net" that will
prevent enemies from establishing a tactical surprise.142 In August of 2003, the
Federal Aviation Administration granted the Global Hawk authorization to fly in
U.S. civilian airspace, which further expanded the vehicles' mission potential.143 This
distinction, in combination with the diverse surveillance capabilities, has led many
officials outside the Pentagon to consider the Global Hawk an attractive candidate
for anti-drug smuggling and Coast Guard operations.144 Documentation from the
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) indicates that the RQ-4A is expected to
reach initial operational capability (IOC) in 2006.145
Program Status. Developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation of Palmdale,
CA, Global Hawk entered low-rate-initial-production in February 2002. The Air
Force has stated that it intends to acquire 51 Global Hawks, at an expected cost of
$6.6 billion for development and procurement costs. Currently, the Air Force
possesses 12 RQ-4A vehicles. According to the most recent Select Acquisition
Report, the current program-unit cost for the Global Hawk has reached $128.7
million.146 In April 2005, the Air Force reported to Congress that the program had
overrun by 18% as a result of an "increasing aircraft capacity to accommodate
requirements for a more sophisticated, integrated imagery and signals intelligence
senor suite".147 A Government Accountability Office Report in December 2004
noted that the program had increased by nearly $900 million since 2001 and
recommended delaying the purchase of future Global Hawks until an appropriate
development strategy could be implemented.148 The rising costs of the UAV and
accusations of Air Force mismanagement have caused concern among many in
Congress and in the Pentagon as well as facilitating an overall debate on the Air
Force's development strategy.149 The Conferees of the FY2005 Defense
Authorization Bill [House Report 108-767] admonished the Air Force's management
strategy for not using previously authorized funds for a counter-drug surveillance
evaluation program. They noted that "the committee suspects the Air Force used the
$18.0 million set aside in 2001 for the counter-drug demonstration to meet other
requirements of the Global Hawk development program".150 As a result, the
Conferees recommended a cut of $18 million to the President's R&D request for the
Global Hawk. The final appropriation bill [Public Law 108-335] cut the R&D
request by six million dollars. In June of 2004, the House Appropriations Committee
expressed serious concern over Air Force's accelerated development strategy and
consequently cut the president's budget request for advanced procurement by $21.3
million and current year procurement by $89.86 million.151 The current year
procurement cut transferred one RQ-4A to the Navy for FY2005. Neither of the cuts
survived conference and the Air Force's procurement budget request was fully
funded for FY2005. In December 2004, Michael Wynne, acting Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisitions, emphasized that DoD would not purchase UAVs that cost
as much as manned aircraft of equivalent capabilities. Of the Global Hawk, Wynne
noted that the vehicle had gone from being "relatively inexpensive to [where it] now
approaches what we have paid for some bombers in the past".152 As a result of
increasing cost criticism, the Air Force devised a plan in early 2005 intended to
restructure the Global Hawk program in an effort to facilitate IOC by the end of
2005. The House Appropriations Committee cut the President's FY2006 current year
procurement request by $110 million, advance procurement request by $10 million
and increased Global Hawk R&D by $21 million. Final appropriations and
authorizations await the Senate Defense Appropriations and Senate Defense
Authorization (S. 1042, Senate Armed Services Committee Report 109-69) bills. See
Table 9 for a complete overview of FY2005 and FY2006 funding.
Table 7. Global Hawk Funding
($ in Millions)
Procurement RDT&E
FY05
Request 4 air vehicles 287.7 336.1
AP CY 71.8
Authorization Conference 4 air vehicles 287.7 336.1
AP CY 71.8
Appropriations Conference 4 air vehicles 287.7 336.1
AP CY 71.8
FY05 Supplemental
18.3 39.7
FY06
Request 5 air vehicles 327.6 308.5
AP CY 69.9
Authorization, House 4 air vehicles 297.7 308.5
AP CY 69.9
Authorization, Senate 5 air vehicles 327.6 308.5
AP CY 69.9
Appropriations, House 3 air vehicles 199.4 329.7
AP CY 59.9
Appropriations, Senate 5 air vehicles 327.6 317.5
AP CY 69.9
Endnotes
138
For the most recent Congressional concerns, see House Report 109-89. House Armed
Service Committee "National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2006." May 20,
2005, p. 91.
139
Jeff Morrison. "USAF No Longer Viewing Global Hawk As An Autonomous System,
Official Says." Aerospace Daily, December 3rd, 2005.
140
Glenn W. Goodman, Jr. "UAVs Come Of Age." The ISR Journal, July 2002.
141
David A. Fulghum. "Global Hawk Shows Off Updated Package of Sensor Aviation Week & Space
Technology." Aviation Week Intelligence Network. September 08, 2003.
142
Ibid.
143
Sue Baker. "FAA Authorizes Global Hawk Flights." Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs,
August 21, 2003.
144
Ron Laurenzo. "Global Hawk Scouts Ahead for Other UAVs." DEFENSE WEEK, September 2,
2003.
145
OSD. UAS Roadmap 2005-2030. August 2005, p. 6.
146
OSD. Selected Acquisition Report. December 31, 2004, p. 11.
147
James R. Asker. "Global Hawk 18% Over Budget." Aviation Week & Space Technology, April
25, 2005.
148
United States Government Accountability Office. GAO-05-6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Changes
in Global Hawk's Acquisition Strategy Are Needed to Reduce Program Risks. November 2004, p.
3-4.
149
See House Report 109-89. House Armed Service Committee "National Defense Authorization Act
for the Fiscal Year 2006." May 20, 2005, p. 91.
150
U.S. Congress, 108th Congress, 2nd Session, Committee of Conference, Ronald W. Reagan
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, House Report 108-767, p.209-210.
151
See House Report 108-553, accompanying H.R. 4613, 108th Congress, June 18th 2004, p. 193-194.
152
Dave Ahearn. "Northrop Grumman Defends $30 Million Global Hawk Cost." Defense Today.
December 17, 2004.
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