Retired Global Hawks Find New Role

A growing fleet of Northrop Grumman RQ-4 RangeHawks is about to begin work supporting US DoD hypersonic flight tests.

The RangeHawk programme began with four Block 20 Global Hawk aircraft – some of the oldest of the high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs in the US Air Force’s inventory – being transferred to the DoD’s SkyRange programme in October 2021. SkyRange is located at the Grand Sky facility, adjacent to Grand Forks Air Force Base, ND.

An unspecified additional number of Block 20 and Block 30 RQ-4Bs “are being transferred” to Grand Sky for conversion into RangeHawks, according to the company. “The conversion will integrate advanced payloads to equip the aircraft with the capability to support the testing of hypersonic vehicles and other long-range weapons […] RangeHawks provide over-the-horizon altitude, endurance and flexibility, which are critical for collecting telemetry and other data to monitor the vehicle during flight tests.”

“Our RQ-4 RangeHawks will support the emerging class of hypersonic weapons and provide a combination of range, endurance and payload capacity,” Jane Bishop, VP/GM of Northrop’s global surveillance business, said. “These aircraft will continue their role in vital national security missions while enabling us to bring premier aircraft design, modification, operations and sustainment work to the Grand Forks community.”

“RangeHawk is ideally suited to collect data by providing persistent time-on-station positioned closer to flight path and agility to adapt to the dynamics of a testing environment,” added George Rumford, acting director of SkyRange’s parent organization, DoD’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC). He described the aircraft as “a force multiplier as we evolve critical national security capabilities.“