Northrop Grumman has unveiled the first production version of the next generation Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle—the Block 20 RQ-4B. The new version of the high-flying—and much in demand—UAV has to go through a series of final systems tests and a flight test program at Edwards AFB, Calif., before it goes to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif. At a ceremony Aug. 25 at Northrop’s Antelope Valley Manufacturing Center in Palmdale, Calif., US Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.) noted that USAF has been operating earlier Global Hawk UAVs “in combat today in ways never imagined.” The Block 20 greatly surpasses the Block 10 in payload-hauling capability and power.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe is challenging Airmen with new weekly workouts that are likely to hurt way more than the service’s new fitness test.