Executive Series Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk

In role and design, it is somewhat similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to both provide a broad overview and systematically target surveillance shortfalls. The Global Hawk air vehicle is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms—and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 100,000 square kilometers (40,000 square miles) of terrain a day. If a Global Hawk were flown out of San Francisco, it would be able to operate in Maine for 24 hours, observe a 370 x 370 kilometer (230 x 230 mile) grid, and then fly back home.  Potential missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide peace, crisis, and wartime operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft will allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities.