They have been in the Southwest Asia theater only since January, but the first two production Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles already have flown 50 missions totaling more than 1,000 combat hours, Northrop Grumman said June 5. The two UAVs feature improved sensor capabilities over development versions, which amassed more than 5,000 combat hours over Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Space Force relies entirely on data—but it lacks the systems and tools to analyze and share that data properly even within the service, let alone with international partners, officials said May 1.