It Went, It Conquered, It Came Home: The prototype Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, designated Air Vehicle No. 3, first sent to Southwest Asia in 2002 should arrive back at Edwards AFB, Calif., on Feb. 20. The Air Force has operated the prototype in the global war on terror for more than four years, during which time it amassed 4, 245 combat flying hours. It has been replaced by production model Global Hawks.
As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.