Global Hawk
![The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle is the size of a plane with a similar shape including a curved front, wings and stabilizers seen in flight.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/7p2whiua/production/503802285639a6a923af68e9943beb5f1488aff8-2048x1536.jpg?w=900&auto=format)
The Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle that's used for high-altitude, long-duration surveillance. You tell it what to do, and it can take off, fly, spy, and return without any human input.
- Creator
- Year
- 2001
- Country
- United States 🇺🇸
- Categories
- Features
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Did you know?
NASA has its own Global Hawk that it uses to spy on the ocean and the atmosphere.
![A view of the Global Hawk UAV as it flies over a barren landscape.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/7p2whiua/production/d79498b5533b83e7b015275db9dd2fb2d78635fb-2048x1536.jpg?w=900&auto=format)
![A monotone aerial view.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/7p2whiua/production/024b43367f16ef451fe9c844a33e0b35c1c5752a-2048x1536.jpg?w=900&auto=format)
Specs
- Overview
Able to fly halfway around the globe and remain on station for long periods of time. Capable of capturing high-resolution, near-real-time imagery.
- Status
Ongoing
- Year
2001
- Website
- Width
- 3980 cm
- Height
- 470 cm
- Length
- 1450 cm
- Weight
- 14628 kg (gross weight)
- Speed
- 574 km/h
- Sensors
All-weather synthetic aperture radar, high-resolution electro-optical digital camera, infrared sensor.
- Actuators
Rolls Royce-North American F137-RR-100 turbofan engine
- Materials
Lightweight, high-strength composites for wings and other parts. Standard aluminum for main fuselage.
- Compute
On-board secure computing and communication system with Ku SATCOM Datalink, CDL LOS, UHF SATCOM/LOS, and INMARSAT.
- Cost
- $35 million (manufacturing cost; sensors and operation not included)