Aircraft > UAVs and Drones > Northrop Grumman > RQ-4 Global Hawk

Reconnaissance UAV drones are equipped with just about every type of camera, radar, and sensing equipment imaginable that sends data to the commanders in real-time via satellite and radio links. It doesn't matter how dark it is or how bad the weather may be, the enemy can't hide! The Global Hawk UAV drone was deployed in Afghanistan to fight the war on terror shortly after 9/11/2001.

During take-off and landing, the Global Hawk is controlled by a local ground station called the Launch and Recover Element (LRE). Once airborne it is controlled via satellite by the Mission Control Element (MCE) located in Beale Air Force Base, California.

Wow, to think that an aircraft cruising the skies over Afghanistan is being controlled by remote pilots in California!


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General Atomics Aeronautical's RQ-1 Predator UAV was designed as a reconnaissance UAV Drone, much like the Global Hawk. The R stands for Reconacance and the Q means that it's an unmanned aircraft. When the aircraft was fitted with 2 Hellfire missiles it became the MQ-1 Predator. The M stands for multi-role.

Predator UAV Drone
MQ-1 Predator

The Predator UAV is equipped with a laser designator to identify targets for laser guided missiles from other aircraft or from it's own Hellfire missiles!

Since Hellfire missiles are supersonic and the UAV Predator is stealthy, the enemy has little if any warning of a strike. The enemy literally doesn't know what hit them!

The laser guided missiles allow for surgical strikes that minimize civilian casualties. A specific room of a building can be marked for a pinpoint strike!

The Mission Control Element (MCE) for the Predator UAV is located at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. How would you like to have a job where you literally spend all day searching for and destroying enemies targets across the map, then return home to a "normal" life with the family each day?


Reaper UAV Drone
MQ-9 Reaper

The MQ-1 was so successful that a bigger, better, and faster "Hunter-Killer" version was developed.

Carrying up to 15 times more weight and flying 3 times faster than the Predator, the

Tags

Aircraft

RQ-1 Predator
RQ-4 Global Hawk
MQ-9 Reaper
Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle

Country

Afghanistan

Facility

Creech Air Force Base
Beale Air Force Base

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