The Air Force has agreed to give NASA a third Global Hawk air vehicle for the civil agency’s high-altitude environmental science research efforts, Ed Walby, Northrop Grumman’s director of business development for high-altitude, long-endurance systems, said Thursday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. Northrop builds the Global Hawk. Like the first two Global Hawks supplied to NASA, the third aircraft is from among USAF’s tranche of prototype air vehicles built during the Global Hawk advanced concept technology demonstration, said Walby. NASA’s third aircraft will be ACTD #7, the final prototype aircraft manufactured; it resembles most closely the Global Hawk production model, he said. Already NASA has ACTD #1 and ACTD #6. NASA rolled out the first of its two converted Global Hawks last month. Walby offered no timeline on the transfer.
Planning an Air Show Is Hard. At Andrews, It’s Even Harder
Sept. 17, 2025
Joint Base Andrews opened its flightline this month to thousands of civilians, exposing a normally restricted airbase that regularly hosts the president and foreign dignitaries to a curious public eager to see current and historic military aircraft up close and in action.
