Northrop Grumman is now adapting the next two RQ-4 Global Hawk drones into aircraft that may monitor hypersonic system tests and expects to start out integration testing on the pair later this summer.
In an interview with Defense News, Northrop Grumman executive Doug Shaffer said the corporate is heading in the right direction to deliver those aircraft, newly modified into Range Hawks, to the Defense Department’s Test Resource Management Center by early 2025.
These two Range Hawks are the primary to be modified from a batch of 24 Global Hawk drones the Air Force has retired in recent times and passed on to TRMC for a second life as flexible and airborne test data collectors.
Up to now, the federal government has used sensors mounted on ships to gather test launch data for hypersonic systems. But moving those ships into the right positions is usually a lengthy and laborious process that requires a considerable number of individuals.
So in recent times, the Air Force, NASA and TRMC have been working on an idea called SkyRange to mount sensors onto Global Hawks that would more easily collect this data. This system’s first three adapted RQ-4s — which were older Block 10 models — in recent times have been supporting tests for programs comparable to NASA’s Artemis Moon exploration program and hypersonic vehicles. They’re stationed on the Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In an interview with sister publication C4ISRNet, TRMC director George Rumford said having those early Range Hawks allowed the Pentagon to conduct virtually back-to-back hypersonic flight tests in early 2023, 10 days apart over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Northrop Grumman said the primary three Range Hawks performed so well that TRMC is moving to expand the SkyRange program. The 2 dozen Block 20 and 30 RQ-4s which are slated to be modified into the subsequent several batches of Range Hawks are more capable than the older model.
Technology has advanced enough in recent times to give you the chance to shrink the sensing equipment down enough to be mounted on a drone, said Shaffer, vice chairman of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting programs for Northrop Grumman’s aeronautics systems sector.
Shaffer said Northrop Grumman has began breaking down these first two RQ-4s on the Grand Sky facility near Grand Forks, North Dakota, and can start installing the brand new suite of sensors as parts are available. Once mounted on the Range Hawks, the sensors will give you the chance to collect telemetry data on hypersonic launches comparable to speed and trajectory, he said.
These Range Hawks have now passed their critical design review, and the design process is now finished, Shaffer said. Northrop Grumman used digital design techniques, he said, which has sped up the method.
Northrop Grumman plans to switch the remaining RQ-4s in batches of 4, Shaffer added, starting with the Block 30s. And with each RQ-4′s modification taking roughly eight months to finish, he said, updating the whole fleet could take several years. He cautioned that schedule will depend upon whether this system continues to get enough funding.
Shaffer declined to say how much each updated Range Hawk will cost, but said later modifications will grow cheaper as work on this system progresses.
The Air Force now has nine RQ-4s left in its inventory and plans to eventually retire them. But in the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, lawmakers moved to stop the Air Force from mothballing the rest of its fleet until after fiscal 2028.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.