The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and the 452nd Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif., joined forces with the Navy at NAS Patuxent River, Md., last month to demonstrate the compatibility of a new payload—High Band Subsystem Signals Intelligence—intended for production Global Hawk UAVs. The Air Force elements also aided the Navy’s Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration during Trident Warrior 2005—it was the Navy’s first use of its new maritime Global Hawks in a wargame. All this gets done, of course, while the Global Hawk team supports war on terrorism operations, says ASC’s Global Hawk Systems Group director Randy Brown.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.