Pacific Air Forces will formally welcome the first RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft to the 36th Wing at Andersen AFB, Guam, on Monday, says Gen. Gary North, PACAF commander. The aircraft arrived at Andersen at the beginning of the month from Beale AFB, Calif., but will be officially celebrated during Monday’s formal rollout ceremony, North told the Daily Report during a Sept. 15 interview at AFA’s Air and Space Conference. The Global Hawk’s presence on Guam will give PACAF “a high-altitude, long-range persistent [intelligence- surveillance-reconnaissance] platform” that complements the U-2s and other ISR aircraft that operate in the region, he said. The 36th Wing will eventually be home to three Global Hawks. North said the delivery dates of the final two aircraft will be determined by the progress of upcoming Global Hawk initial-operational-test-and-evaluation activities and the progress of Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 production line. The arrival of the Global Hawk allows airmen to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures for its employment in the theater, North noted. Among it roles, North envisions Global Hawk supporting disaster-relief missions.
The Pentagon needs a Digital Command and a Digital Warfare Corps, along with other changes, to take advantage of critical new technologies, according to a think tank founded by former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt.
