The 452nd Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., is taking the last of the Block 10 production Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles through its paces before turning it over to the operators at Beale AFB, Calif. All the Hawk’s from here on out will be the larger Block 20, 30, and 40 aircraft with greatly increased capability, said Lt. Col. Douglas Jaquish, 452nd FLTS commander. Air Force operators already have flown more than 10,000 hours with Global Hawks—about 60 percent were combat hours.
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…