Authors: Kuang Fuji, Quartz Fan, Cui Songzhi
Background of the development of the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV
The background of the development of the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV dates back to the 90s of the 20th century, and was developed by Northrop Grumman. It was originally intended to test the survivability of high-altitude autonomous drones, but in the wake of the 911 terrorist attacks, the United States Air Force (USAF) requested that drones be deployed immediately to meet their needs for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. This need stems from the urgent need for increased battlefield situational awareness and continuous monitoring of enemy activity. In this context, the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV came into being, which aims to provide a platform that can stay over the target area for a long time to conduct large-scale topographic survey and systematic reconnaissance.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV can fly at a maximum speed of 644 km/h, a range of up to 26,000 km, and a range of 42 hours, which means that it can take off from the continental United States to any location in the country for reconnaissance and perform long-term surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV has a maximum flight altitude of 19,810 meters, which allows it not only to provide a wide reconnaissance range, but also to be able to operate above the clouds and avoid many ground threats. With a maximum take-off weight of 11,610 kg, it is capable of carrying up to 1,360 kg of payload, including a variety of reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, and it can carry synthetic aperture radar, optoelectronic and infrared sensors, so it can conduct a wide range of radar searches, and its banner reconnaissance photo accuracy can reach 1 meter, and the accuracy of fixed-point reconnaissance photos can reach 0.3 meters. Different from ordinary UAVs, even in extreme weather such as sandstorms and thunderstorms, it can still continuously monitor moving targets and accurately identify them, so it is called "intra-atmosphere reconnaissance satellite". The RQ-4 has a highly intelligent autonomous system capable of positioning and flying using inertial guidance and GPS, reducing reliance on manual control. The most advanced feature of the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV is its advanced data transmission capability, which can be connected with the Joint Deployable Intelligent Support System (JDISS) and the Global Command and Control System (GCCS) to transmit reconnaissance data to the commander in real time, so as to quickly and accurately carry out the next strategic deployment. Its applicability is very extensive, it can adapt to different communication control systems of the navy, land and air force, and can carry out line-of-sight data transmission communication in addition to satellite communication. To enhance survivability, the RQ-4 is equipped with an AN/ALR-89 self-defense kit that includes a laser warning system, a radar warning system, and a jamming system, and can be equipped with an ALE-50 towed decoy to improve missile evasion capabilities.
Its related deployment and combat testing
The RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV was first applied and tested in the 2001 war in Afghanistan. In this war, the "Global Hawk" was mainly used to provide battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance, providing a total of more than 15,000 enemy target intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance images, indicating targets for the low-flying "Predator" UAV, and making no small contribution to the victory of the operation.
In the 2003 Iraq War, the U.S. military used two Global Hawk drones. The US Air Force destroyed 13 Iraqi surface-to-air missile batteries, 50 surface-to-air missile launchers, 70 surface-to-air missile carriers, 300 surface-to-air missile boxes, and 300 tanks by using target image intelligence provided by the Global Hawk. Although it is responsible for only 3% of the aerial camera mission, 55% of the time-sensitive target data used to strike Iraq's air defense system is provided by the drone. In the "Free Iraq Operation", the entire process from discovering the Iraqi army's concealed missile launchers, to transmitting satellite data to ground control stations, then to F/A-18C "Hornet" fighters, and finally to firing artillery shells to destroy targets based on the transmitted data, shows its high efficiency. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Pentagon mobilized RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft to take pictures of the aftermath of the disaster and provide photos to relief organizations to help understand the situation on the ground. After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, the United States deployed RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft from the Guam base to take images of the reactor damage.
In 2019, South Korea introduced the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, becoming the first country outside the United States to equip the drone, and the surveillance area was expanded to all of North Korea and parts of the peninsula. In 2020, NATO ordered a number of RQ-4 Global Hawk drones to be stationed at Sigonella Air Base in Italy to build its "Joint Ground Surveillance System." The system is designed to enhance NATO's ground surveillance capabilities and enable information sharing among member states.
In the future, the U.S. Air Force plans to retire all RQ-4 drones by 2027, and the funds for the retired Global Hawk drones will be reallocated to other ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities to meet the challenges of future high-end conflicts.
RQ-4 Global Hawk Retirement Reasons
Why, then, is the RQ-4 now facing decommissioning?
First of all, it flies at a slower speed. The RQ-4 still lags far behind the U-2S and other reconnaissance planes in cruising altitude, and lacks stealth and self-defense capabilities, resulting in its low survivability and making it very easy to become a target for medium- and high-altitude anti-aircraft missiles.
Second, it is at risk of technology leakage. In June 2019, an improved Global Hawk drone was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz. In 2022, a "Global Hawk" drone close to Russian airspace was locked and destroyed by the Russian S-400 air defense and anti-missile system. After it is shot down, once the data contained in the special manufacturing process, optoelectronic reconnaissance equipment, precision-guided munitions, and other data are obtained by other countries, it may lead to the reverse cracking of the technology, increasing the risk of imitation and targeted strategies.
In addition, the RQ-4 Global Hawk is more expensive to build. Today, its cost can reach $218 million, which is comparable to the cost of a stealth fighter, which is a large burden for the US Air Force. At the same time, the United States can get good economic benefits from selling the decommissioned RQ-4 to other countries.
The U.S. Air Force is undergoing a strategic transformation, emphasizing the concept of "penetrating air supremacy", which requires better performing UAVs capable of breaking through a potential adversary's powerful air defense systems to carry out strategic reconnaissance missions. And the RQ-4 is obviously not easy to use at the moment.
In short, the US Air Force is seeking more advanced alternatives to maintain its technological superiority and strategic position in future wars, driven by the "military-industrial complex" and a multi-party game of interests.
Background of the development of the MQ-4C UAV
The MQ-4C UAV originated from the BAMS program of the Office of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (PMA-263) of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command's Office of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (PMA-263), which calls for dozens of high-altitude, long-range drones controlled by ground stations, in conjunction with the P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft. The tasks of BAMS UAVs include maritime surveillance, enemy combat information gathering, combat damage assessment, port surveillance, communications relay, support for maritime blockade, surface warfare, ground attack, combat space management, and target designation for maritime strike missions.
In April 2008, with the approval of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, the BAMS project entered the system development and validation phase. In the open bidding stage, Norge's MQ-4 Global Hawk came out on top against Boeing's Gulfstream 550 business jet platform and Norma's MQ-9 Reaper platform to win a $1.16 billion contract. In 2010, the BAMS project UAV was given the designation MQ-4C.
The MQ-4C UAV is an improvement on the RQ-4N Global Hawk UAV (RQ-4B Global Hawk UAV Maritime Version). The drone has a single-wing layout with a large aspect ratio and a V-shaped tail, and is powered by Rolls-Royce's AE3700H turbofan engines. The aluminium fuselage is a semi-monocoque construction, while the rear fuselage, engine nacelle and V-shaped tail are made of composite materials.
Compared with the Global Hawk UAV, the MQ-4C's main improvements include increasing the strength of the fuselage and wings, adding de-icing and lightning protection systems to the Global Hawk UAV, which can resist overload caused by gusts of wind and bad weather such as rain, snow and lightning.
The MQ-4C drone is capable of carrying a variety of advanced payloads, allowing the drone to track ships for long periods of time and collect information such as the ship's speed, position, and class. The platform can be equipped with sensor systems such as AN /ZPY-3 Multifunctional Active Sensor (MFAS) marine radar, AN /ZLQ-1 electronic support measures, electro-electro/infrared sensors, communication relay equipment and Automatic Identification System (AIS).
The U.S. Navy will establish two MQ-4C combat squadrons and five MQ-4C forward deployment bases. The combat squadron is the 11th and 19th UAV patrol squadrons, which are responsible for the mission management of UAVs and cooperate with the P-8A maritime patrol squadron to complete the tasks; Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, Florida, Base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. Navy plans to purchase 70 MQ-4Cs (including 2 verification aircraft) for five forward deployment bases, and according to the Navy's original plan, at each forward deployment base, one MQ-4C will perform tasks in the target sea area, one is returning to the base, one is flying to the target sea area, and one is staying at the forward deployment base, but considering the maintenance support, more than one MQ-4C will remain at the forward deployment base.
The development trend of high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft of the US military in the future
The U.S. military was the first to start in UAVs, and it was also the first to discover and realize the actual combat effectiveness of UAVs. Different from other types of UAVs, high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has the characteristics of large size, long endurance and high flight altitude, which makes its research and development difficult to speak. In terms of performance, high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft have high requirements for power units, communication transmission devices, and image processing and identification devices, otherwise it is difficult to meet their combat needs. After the success of the "Global Hawk" UAV, the US military is constantly improving the "Global Hawk" UAV and stepping up research and development of a new generation of high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to replace the "Global Hawk" UAV. In response to the needs of actual warfare, the R&D trend of the US military is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Optimize the power plant
The United States pointed out in the "Unmanned Aircraft System Roadmap (2005-2030)" that "propulsion technology and processor technology are the two key technologies of UAVs". Whether it is the "Global Hawk" or the "Mermaid Poseidon" UAV, although the two have excellent endurance and flight power, but the two are still not out of the shackles of conventional power propulsion, using a turbofan engine as the propulsion power, the U.S. Air Force Scientific Research Office and the University of Michigan are carrying out UAV projects powered by renewable energy such as solar energy, trying to provide longer cruising time for UAVs through the integration and breakthrough of new materials, energy transmission and energy storage. This kind of UAV, powered by renewable energy, can rely less on logistics and supply systems, and is more in line with the requirements of the future battlefield.
Increases stealth
According to the US "Theater of Operations" website, the US Air Force proposes to develop penetrating air supremacy capabilities, that is, to use stealth capabilities to enable combat platforms to break through the enemy's air defense system to strike targets in depth. In order to achieve "penetrating air supremacy," it is necessary to carry out multi-system integration, form "system clusters" of bombers, reconnaissance planes, fighters, and electronic warfare platforms with stealth capabilities, and use advanced networking capabilities to achieve coordinated strikes. In this combat system, reconnaissance aircraft will be the core. An unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with stealth capability can quietly fly in the opponent's airspace and send the obtained intelligence to various combat platforms and command centers through its intelligent data link and satellite communication capabilities, so as to improve the commander's decision-making efficiency and the combat capability of the strike formation. Enhance information and communication capabilities and strengthen battlefield coordination and command capabilities.
Strengthen the level of autonomy and intelligence
On the one hand, limited to the shortage of manpower, in the future of the U.S. military in high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance, in the complex battlefield conditions that may occur, for multiple targets at the same time, it is obviously difficult to achieve it by manpower through computer identification and information processing, on the other hand, the development of intelligent technology also provides the possibility for UAVs to process a large amount of data, so it is particularly important to upgrade the UAV intelligently, through artificial intelligence and machine learning and other technologies to assist human decision-making and improve mission efficiency.
Enhanced firepower
According to the US military's numbering law for meta-human-aircraft, M is usually used to refer to armed attack aircraft, such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper of the US Air Force, and the MQ-8 fire scout unmanned helicopter of the US Navy, which shows that the MQ-4C has the potential ability to be equipped with attack weapons. For example, weapon pylons can be modified under the wings to carry small air-to-ship missiles, torpedoes and laser-guided bombs. It can be seen that the US military is planning to mount weapons on high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. [1] Carry out a preemptive fire attack when the rear fire strike cannot arrive in time, so as to avoid missing the fighter or achieving a surprise attack effect with stealth performance. [2] Provide a certain degree of self-protection capability for high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, ensure that they can increase the probability of survival under enemy fighter or air defense missile attacks, and improve their ability to perform missions.