The United States plans to use the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone to test hypersonic missiles and large weapons
What is known
RQ-4 Global Hawk is a giant dronean aircraft used by the United States Air Force. It has a wingspan of almost 40 m, which is approximately twice the size of the MQ-9 Reaper. The drone is equipped with a Rolls-Royce F-137 engine, has a flight range of 22,800 km and an autonomy of 34 hours.
Northrop Grumman equips dronecomponents that allow you to carry hypersonic missiles. When the US Air Force will start testing weapons is still unknown. But this one will definitely happen within 5 years, since in 2027 the life of the UAV ends. The RQ-4 Global Hawk under the SkyRange program will be equipped with special sensors that will provide an alternative data acquisition support system. It has previously been tested in the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere.
Recall that Global Hawk made its firstflight in the winter of 1998. The operation of the drone began after 6 years. Almost $14 billion was spent on the program to create the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The cost of one drone is more than $200 million.
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