BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  

9th Maintenance Squadron non-destructive inspection (NDI) Airmen are in the process of performing an inspection of the RQ-4 Global Hawk’s exterior and wings. Since the RQ-4 is made from composite material as opposed to metal the NDI requires ultrasonic inspection equipment. The Airmen use both handheld inspection equipment and a mobile automated scanner system (MAUS). The MAUS allows them to do a scan which would take a week in a couple of days. The both types of ultrasonic inspection equipment provide a detail image of scanned areas to map and identify flaws.