The 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif., has received its second RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The high-flying UAV arrived at Beale on Nov. 3 after testers at Edwards Air Force Base checked it out. This is the last of the Block 10 production Hawks; the new Block 20 RQ-4B has been at Edwards for systems testing since its Aug. 25 rollout at Northrop’s Palmdale facility.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.