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.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
