page_title: Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
section_title: EuroHawk
hierarchical_section_title: Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk / Development / EuroHawk
caption_attribution_description: English: German Luftwaffe 99-01 Northrop Grumman/Cassidian RQ-4B EuroHawk mock-up at ILA Berlin Air Show 2012. Deutsch: Mock-up des 99-01 Northrop Grumman/Cassidian RQ-4B EuroHawk der deutschen Luftwaffe auf der ILA Berlin Air Show 2012.
context_page_description: The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted, surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The Global Hawk performs duties similar to that of the Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles of terrain a day, an area the size of South Korea or Iceland.
  The Global Hawk is operated by the United States Air Force. It is used as a High-Altitude Long Endurance platform covering the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. According to the USAF, the superior surveillance capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise weapons targeting and better protection of friendly forces. Cost overruns led to the original plan to acquire 63 aircraft being cut to 45, and to a 2013 proposal to mothball the 21 Block 30 signals intelligence variants. The initial flyaway cost of each of the first 10 aircraft was US$10 million in 1994.
context_section_description: The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) ordered a variant of the RQ-4B, to be equipped with a customized sensor suite, designated EuroHawk. The aircraft was based on the RQ-4B Block 20/30/40 and was to be equipped with an EADS-built SIGINT package; it was intended to fulfill Germany's requirement to replace their aging Dassault-Breguet Atlantique electronic surveillance aircraft of the Marineflieger (German Naval Air Arm). The EADS sensor package is composed of six wing-mounted pods; reportedly these sensor pods could potentially be used on other platforms, including crewed aircraft.
  The EuroHawk was officially rolled out on 8 October 2009 and its first flight took place on 29 June 2010. It underwent several months of flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base. On 21 July 2011, the first EuroHawk arrived in Manching, Germany; after which it was scheduled to receive its SIGINT sensor package and undergo further testing and pilot training until the first quarter of 2012. The Luftwaffe planned to station the type with Reconnaissance Wing 51. In 2011 the German ministry of defence was aware of difficulties with the certification for use within the European airspace. During flight trials, problems with the EuroHawk's flight control system were found; the German certification process was also complicated by Northrop Grumman refusing to share technical data on the aircraft with which to perform evaluations.
  On 13 May 2013, German media reported that the EuroHawk would not be certifiable under ICAO rules without an anti-collision system; thus preventing any operations within European airspace or the airspace of any ICAO member. The additional cost of certification was reported to be more than €600 million (US$780 million).  On 15 May 2013, the German government announced the immediate termination of the program, attributing the cancellation to the certification issue. Reportedly, the additional cost to develop the EuroHawk to the standards needed for certification may not have guaranteed final approval for certification. German defense minister Thomas de Maizière stated EuroHawk was "very important" for Germany in 2012, then referred to the project as being "a horror without end" in his 2013 statement to the Bundestag. The total cost of the project before it was canceled was €562 million. Northrop Grumman and EADS have described reports of flight control problems and high costs for certification as "inaccurate"; they have stated their intention to provide an affordable plan to complete the first EuroHawk's flight testing and produce the remaining four aircraft.
  On 8 August 2013, the EuroHawk set an endurance record by flying continuously in European airspace for 25.3 hours, reaching an altitude of 58,600 feet (17,900 m). It was the longest flight by an unrefueled UAS weighing more than 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) in European skies. On 5 October 2014, German Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen was reportedly considering reactivating the EuroHawk program to test its reconnaissance abilities over a long period at altitudes of up to 20,000 m (66,000 ft). Attempting to test the recon system on Airbus aircraft and an Israeli drone as alternate platforms had proven unsuccessful. The Bundeswehr would use it to detect, decrypt, and potentially interfere with enemy communications signals.  If tests prove successful, a carrier would be purchased, likely "similar" to the U.S. Global Hawk. Germany is considering installing the EuroHawk's SIGINT payloads onto the U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton Global Hawk derivative, as the electronic and communications intelligence sensors would be more difficult to place on other substitute aircraft. It already has icing and lightning-strike protection, and was built with certification over civilian airspace in mind, meeting the STANAG 4671 requirements that had ended the EuroHawk program.
caption: EuroHawk at the ILA 2012
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