Global Hawk High-Altitude, LongEndurance Science Aircraft

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center operates 

two Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned 

aircraft for high-altitude, long-duration missions. 

Acquired from the U.S. Air Force, these two aircraft 

consist of a Block 2 Advanced Concept Technology 

Demonstration model and a Block 10 initial production model. A third Block 10 Global Hawk is being 

refurbished to be operational by end of 2019. 

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation Aerospace Systems Sector in Rancho Bernardo, California, and NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center 

at Edwards, California partnered to operate Global 

Hawk. NASA and Northrop Grumman gain benefit 

in supporting each other’s use of the Global Hawk 

system which includes ground control stations, 

maintenance facilities, and the NASA Global Hawk 

aircraft.

The Global Hawk aircraft operate autonomously 

and execute a flight plan loaded to the aircraft prior 

to flight. Another unique feature of the aircraft 

is its endurance and range capabilities. Nominally these aircraft are flown on missions of up to 

24-hours during which they travel approximately 

8,500-nautical-miles. Although autonomous, the 

aircraft’s flight is managed and systems are monitored through satellite and line-of-site communication links using a ground control station. Dedicated 

satellite communication links provide customers 

with direct access to their onboard sensor packages during missions. Customers have the ability to 

monitor sensor function and evaluate selected data 

in near real time from the ground control station or 

from their home station.

The 44-foot-long Global Hawk airframe has a 

wingspan of more than 116 feet, a height of 15 feet, 

and a gross takeoff weight of 26,750 pounds including a 1,500-pound payload capability. A single 

Rolls-Royce AE3007H turbofan engine powers 

the aircraft. The distinctive V-tail, engine cover, 

aft fuselage and wings are constructed primarily of 

graphite composite materials. The center fuselage 

is constructed of conventional aluminum, while 

various fairings and radomes feature fiberglass 

composite construction.

Between 2010 and 2017 the aircraft served NASA's 

Science Mission Directorate, the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and 

the Department of Energy in performing Earth 

observation research. The Global Hawk aircraft 

proved itself to be a valuable asset for high altitude 

hurricane and severe storm research performed 

over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

The two yellow-and-black pods under the wings of NASA Global Hawk No. 872 house atmospheric measurement probes. Thirteen instruments were installed on the autonomously operated aircraft for the 2014 

Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment over the western Pacific Ocean. (NASA/Tom Miller)
FS-2019-09-098 AFRC

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Armstrong Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273

Edwards, California 93523

NASA Facts

Some examples of the science work Global Hawk has accomplished are:

• Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX) to 

 study moisture and chemical composition in the region of the 

 upper atmosphere where pollutants and other gases enter the 

 stratosphere and potentially influence our climate. Flights 

 were performed from 2011-2014.

• Sensing Hazards Operational Unmanned Technology 

 (SHOUT) Program where NASA partnered with NOAA in 

 2015 to investigate the use of a High Altitude Long Endur-

 ance (HALE) aircraft in sensing high impact weather-related 

 hazards. NOAA discovered that entering the atmospheric data 

 gathered from cruise altitude, ~60,000 feet, to the ocean floor 

 into their forecast models greatly enhanced storm track and 

 storm intensity predictions.

• Hands-On Project Experience (HOPE) Eastern Pacific Origins 

 and Characteristics of Hurricanes (EPOCH) 2016 field 

 campaign that studied storms in the Northern Hemisphere to 

 learn more about how storms intensify as they developed out 

 over the ocean. Data from these flights is still being used in 

 various studies.

Between 2010 and 2017 the aircraft served NASA's Science 

Mission Directorate, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Energy in performing Earth observation research. The Global Hawk aircraft proved 

itself to be a valuable asset for high altitude hurricane and severe 

storm research performed over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

The NASA Global Hawk fleet is currently managed under the 

agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and currently provides support to the Department of Defense in the 

development of Test Range sensors which are envisioned to 

provide both NASA and DoD with cost effective tools to support future systems test operations.

Flight crew and scientists occupy the Global Hawk Operations Center at NASA Armstrong during the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes hurricane study in the fall of 2010. (NASA/Tom Tschida)