Global Hawk program brings future to the present

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chuck Broadway
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., (ACCNS) --  As the Air Force takes a turn towards a technology-based warfighting style, the RQ-4 Global Hawk has stuck its nose out and let it be known that high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flying is at the forefront of the fight. 

The pilots and sensor operators of the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron successfully command the Global Hawk as it captures images and sends the vital information to warfighters on the ground. 

Piloting the Global Hawk takes a different approach than what is considered to be traditional aviator's duty. The unmanned platform of the RQ-4 allows the pilot to maneuver the aircraft in front of a computer screen with a keyboard and mouse while sitting inside a small enclosure called a Mission Control Element. 

The Global Hawk can sustain flight for more than 30 hours, giving it the ability to complete many missions. Because the aircraft is unmanned, it allows the flexibility for multiple pilots to fly the same mission. 

"One of the benefits of the unmanned platform is that we can run shifts and it's much more manageable," said Lt. Col. Kurt Carraway, 12th RS commander and pilot with more than 400 Global Hawk hours under his belt. 

Because of the pilot rotation and autonomy of the Global Hawk, pilots aren't subjected to the fatigue and long hours sustained in a manned aircraft. Even though they don't experience the gravitational forces of flight, RQ-4 operators are still pilots and have many of the same qualifications as other pilots in the Air Force. 

According to Colonel Carraway, Air Force policy states that unmanned aerial system operators must be pilots or navigators with Federal Aviation Administration ratings on aircraft instrumentation. 

"The [Block 20] Global Hawk weighs more than 32,000 pounds and has the wingspan of a 747 so it's not a remote controlled airplane," Colonel Carraway said. "It takes a pilot who understands airspace and International Civil Aviation Operations rules to effectively operate the platform." 

Colonel Carraway, a previous KC-135 navigator and instructor, compared the operation of his past aircraft with his current one. 

"It's a completely different animal," the colonel said. "It's designed to operate autonomously and could take off, fly a pre-planned route and land all on its own if the environment was sterile." 

A sterile environment however, is not what pilots have to work with. Therefore, they must maneuver the plane to ensure the safety of every aircraft and the pilots aboard them. This maneuverability is attributed to the training they receive during the time they spend with the 1st RS, the U-2 and RQ-4 training-specific squadron. 

"The 1st RS does a fantastic job," Colonel Carraway said. "I'm very satisfied with the students' capabilities, both pilots and sensor operators, when they come over from there. When I first entered the program four years ago there were no technical orders or Air Force Instructions. Most of our training was on-the-job and very basic compared to what it is now." 

While crewmembers are training in the 1st RS they participate in combat support sorties in support of the Global War on Terror. Approximately half of the pilots in training will also forward deploy to Air Force Central Command during this time. 

"It's unique here because most squadrons aren't like that. By the time pilots complete their training they're well aware and well trained on the operations and missions here," the colonel said. 

The missions of the 12th RS include providing theater commanders with near real-time, high-altitude ISR and target acquisition data. Pilots cannot complete this mission alone; they must have a sensor operator alongside in the MCE to handle the responsibilities of image and target acquisition. 

Staff Sgt. Kipp Dale, a 12th RS sensor operator with approximately 800 flight hours, said sensor operators sit next to a pilot the entire flight and work as a team to figure out how to locate the target and capture an image. Flying approximately six sorties each week, likewise in four-hour shifts, SOs operate the camera onboard the aircraft and provide situational awareness to the pilots. 

During flight, SOs and pilots sometimes develop a plan for capturing images of their targets as well as positioning and adjusting mission plans for obstacles such as weather or other aircraft in order to take the best image possible. 

"Sensor operators assess the optimal position for capturing an image of a target. They're essential in ensuring we're approaching a target at the right angle to get the best picture," Colonel Carraway said. 

The missions of the Global Hawk program are more frequent than in the past. Sergeant Dale said missions have doubled, the amount of targets has expanded greatly and manning of SOs has increased from six, when he arrived, to 30-40. 

"The Global Hawk is still a growing program and there's a lot of progress being made," the sergeant said. "Everything we're doing has never been done before. The community in the desert has seen what we can do, and they want more of it." 

The new models of the RQ-4, the Block 20, 30 and 40, will expand operational capabilities and allow the current plan of introducing the Global Hawk to European airframes to take place. 

"The unmanned platforms are an inherent part of the future of the Air Force," Colonel Carraway said. "The high-altitude ISR support it provides is critical to the future. The Secretary of Defense has made it clear that we need more ISR support and the Global Hawk is going to continue to be a key component of that." 

With high-altitude ISR support providing information over a larger area than ever before, the Global Hawk will truly become a world-wide platform. What was once considered the "future of the Air Force" is currently hard at work: The future is now.