Huge American spy drone arrives in England for the first time

A U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk has temporarily deployed to Royal Air Force Fairford in England, marking the first time this aircraft has been stationed in the UK, according to a press release from U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA).

The deployment is part of ongoing efforts to diversify operating locations and strengthen integration with NATO Allies.

The Global Hawk will conduct operations through international and Allied airspace, adhering to international norms and standards. This deployment, the U.S. Air Force say, is also a key step in the implementation of their agile combat employment concept, which allows aircraft to be dispersed from traditional bases to enhance survivability.

The 501st Combat Support Wing at RAF Fairford, which has supported similar deployments in the past, including the operation of U.S. B-52 Stratofortress aircraft for Bomber Task Force 24-3 in June, is supporting this mission.

According to the release, the support and execution of these missions highlight the U.S. commitment to NATO Allies and partners and help establish conditions for future operations within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft with an integrated sensor suite that provides global all-weather, day or night intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability.

According to the U.S. Air Force:

“Global Hawk’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of ISR collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations. The Global Hawk provides persistent near-real-time coverage using imagery intelligence (IMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and moving target indicator (MTI) sensors.

Global Hawk is currently fielded in three distinct blocks. Seven Block 10 aircraft were procured, but were retired from the Air Force inventory in 2011. Block 20s were initially fielded with IMINT-only capabilities, but three Block 20s have been converted to an EQ-4 communication relay configuration, carrying the Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN) payload.

Block 30 is a multi-intelligence platform that simultaneously carries electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and high and low band SIGINT sensors. Block 30 Initial Operating Capability (IOC) was declared in August 2011. Eighteen Block 30s are currently fielded, supporting every geographic combatant command as well as combat missions in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom/ New Dawn. Block 30s also supported Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya and humanitarian relief efforts during Operation Tomodachi in Japan.

The system offers a wide variety of employment options. The long range and 30+ hour endurance allow tremendous flexibility in meeting mission requirements. In 2014, an RQ-4 Block 40 flew a 34.3 hour flight, setting the endurance record for longest unrefueled flight by a U.S. Air Force aircraft.”