MQ-4C Triton & RQ-4 Global Hawk Thread

[Jeff Head]

US Navy MQ-4C Triton Aircraft

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The MQ-4C Triton is the US Navy's new Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) aircraft. It is an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that is based on the US Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk of which approximately 50 have been built. They both are very similar in appearance, but the Navy's aircraft has a significantly stronger wing . Whereas the USAF aircraft remains at high altitude, it is required for the Navy aircraft to ascend to 50,000+ feet, but be able to regularly descend to as low as 10,000 feet for better and further discrimination. So it's wings are designed to be stronger to allow for these fairly rapid changes in altitude. The wing is also designed for more anti-icing capabilities, lightning strike protection, and for better small item impact protection.

In addition, the US Navy aircraft can be fitted with a different sensor fit befitting the maritime environment as required.

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The aircraft was ased on the US Navy Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) aircraft competition that was awarded to Northrup Grumman on April 22, 2008. The BAMS contract was worth $1.16 billion. Lockheed Martin, who had also competed for the contract, filed a formal protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Ultimately, on August 11, 2008 the GAO ruled in favor of Northrup Grumman and upheld the the Navy’s award. In September 2010, the US Navy designated the BAMS aircraft as the MQ-4C, Triton.

The first MQ-4C aircraft based on a RQ-4 Global Hawk was completed to the contract specifications in 2012 and flew that year. Two aircraft were converted to the MQ-4C standard. The first new, purpose built, MQ-4C flew on May 22, 2013. The second purpose built MQ-4C Triton aircraft flew on October 16, 2014, making a total of four aircraft available for test.

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The MQ-4C is designed to give high altitude, long-loiter intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in the maritime and littoral regions, and to seamlessly communicate that information in real time to other US Navy assets, which would include P-8A

Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, to E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Airborne Electronic Warning and Command (AEW&C) aircraft, to Naval vessels, naval bases, or to US Navy strike aircraft like the new F-35C 5th generation stealth aircraft as required.

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As these aircraft are on station, they will provide real-time communications, surveillance, reconnaissance and even targeting as necessary. They are also capable of acting as a network relay and data fusion center, receiving and transmitting communications and information from around particular theaters of operation between the various sources not within line-of-sight of each other. As stated, this would include what ships, aircraft, and land sensors are seeing and then broadcasting through data-links and fuse that information together to create a common "picture" of the battle space, which it then transmits to those requiring the information. This capability greatly increases interoperability, situational awareness, targeting efficiency, and sensor clarity, while also providing an alternative to satellite-based communications systems

Currently, the four aircraft are being tested. Initial Operational Capability is planned for early 2017. Sixty-eight aircraft are planned, though the reliability and availability of the test aircraft is showing that the US Navy may be able to buy less aircraft and still maintain the number of aircraft on station it desires, while fulfilling testing, training, and maintenance requirements.

The MQ-4C aircraft have impressive characteristics:

Length: 47.6 ft in (14.5 m)
Wingspan: 130.9 ft in (39.9 m)
Height: 15.3 ft in (4.6 m)
Gross weight: 32,250 lb (14,630 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan, 6,495-8,917 lbf (28.9-39.7 kN)
Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h)
Endurance: 24+ hours on station
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,288 m)

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[Bernard]

Good thread but is there enough news or discussion to keep it going? How about it be a unmanned vehicles thread or unmanned surveillance? Just a suggestion.

 

[FORBIN]

RQ-4 Global Hawk of which approximately 50 have been buil

Actually USAF have 35 RQ-4 : 6 Block 20, 18 Bl 30, 11 Bl 40 and USN have 4 former USAF Block 10 for begin test and 3 MQ-4C.

Block 20 mainly used for Training.
In order USAF have about 13 Bl 40

First frontline unit to get MQ-4C is new VUP-19 based to Jacksonville in 2019.

 

[Jeff Head]

US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk Aircraft

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The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a US Air Force Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) designed to provides a broad area intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for US or allied forces using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors. The aircraft provides up to 28 hours (or more) of loiter times over target areas and can survey up to 40,000 square miles (100,000 km2) of terrain a day.

The Global Hawk's first flight occurred on February, 28, 1998. It was initially developed in response to the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program, sponsored by DARPA. Seven were built and rigorously tested for three years. After 911, Demand for the capabilities of an aircraft like the RQ-4's was high in the Middle East, and so several pof those very first prototype aircraft were actively operated by the U.S. Air Force in the War in Afghanistan.

As a result of the unequivocal success of the use of those first aircraft, the program entered initial low-rate production while still in engineering and manufacturing development. Nine production Block 10 aircraft, sometimes referred to as RQ-4A, were produced. Two more of those were deployed to Iraq to support operations there. The final Block 10 aircraft was delivered on 26 June 2006.

In order to increase the aircraft's capabilities, the airframe was redesigned, with the nose section and wings being stretched. The modified aircraft, designated RQ-4B Block 20, allowed it to carry up to 3,000 lb of internal payload. These changes were introduced with the first Block 20 aircraft, the 17th Global Hawk produced, which was rolled out in a ceremony on 25 August 2006. First flight of the Block 20 from the US Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California to Edwards Air Force Base took place on 1 March 2007. Developmental testing of Block 20 took place in 2008.

Block 30 and Block 40 developmental improvements followed.

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In June 2011, the Global Hawk was certified by the Secretary of Defense as critical to national security stating, "The Global Hawk is essential to national security; there are no alternatives to Global Hawk which provide acceptable capability at less cost; Global Hawk costs $220M less per year than the U-2 to operate on a comparable mission; the U-2 cannot simultaneously carry the same sensors as the Global Hawk; Global Hawk has a higher priority over other programs."

On 26 January 2012, the Pentagon announced plans to end Global Hawk Block 30 procurement and increase procurement of the Block 40 variant. The USAF plans to procure 45 RQ-4B Global Hawks as of 2013. This would provide for a total fleet (Inlcuding 16 "A" aircrarf) of 61 aircraft.

The big push now is to increase the payload from 3,000 to 4,000 lbs so that all of the sensors carried on the U-2 aircraft, in addition to new equipment carried on the Global Hawk, could be carried on the RQ-4B aircraft. In January 2014, President Barack Obama signed a budget that included a $10 million study to accomplish this

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It was reported in April 2015, that Northrup Grumman had successfully installed all U-2 sensors on the RQ-4 using an Universal Payload Adaptor (UPA) to increase the payload ato 4,000 lb . The sensors consist of the Optical Bar Camera and Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System-2B/C. Successful testing of the system indicates that all RQ-4s can be retrofitted to this standard.

In addition to the US aircraft, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) ordered a variant of the RQ-4B equipped with customized sensors. This design has been designated EuroHawk. The design is based on the RQ-4B Block 30/40 and carries a EADS-built SIGINT package intended to replace the German Navy's aging Dassault-Breguet Atlantique electronic surveillance aircraft. The EADS sensor package is composed of six wing-mounted sensor pods.

The EuroHawk was rolled out on October 8, 2009 and made its first flight on June 29, 2010. It underwent several months of flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base in the United States and then On July 21, 2011, it was flown to Manching, Germany where 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 Eurohawks with their Reconnaissance Wing 51.

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However, dur to European air space certification requirements. On May 13, 2013, German media reported that the EuroHawk would not be certifiable under ICAO rules without an anti-collision system. This prevented any operations within European airspace or the airspace of any ICAO member. On May 15, 2013, the German government announced the icancelation of the program, attributing the cancellation to the certification issue.

Nonethe less, On August 8, 2013, the single 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 of an unrefueled, unmanned aircraft weighing more than 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) in European history.

On October 5, 2014, German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen was 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). The Bundeswehr would use it to detect, decrypt, and potentially interfere with enemy communications signals. If tests prove successful, it has been stated that something "similar" to the U.S. Global Hawk would be purchased. Atr this point, Germany is considering installing the EuroHawk's SIGINT payloads onto the U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton, which is a Global Hawk derivative built specifically for the Braod Area Maritime surveillance role. The MQ-4C already has icing and lightning-strike protection, and was built with certification over civilian airspace in mind, meeting the requirements that had ended the EuroHawk program.

To date, the US has procured the 16 RFQ-A aircraft and 42 od the 45 RF-=QB aircraft.

The RF-QB aircraft have impressive characteristics:

Length: 47.6 ft in (14.5 m)
Wingspan: 130.9 ft in (39.9 m)
Height: 15.3 ft in (4.6 m)
Gross weight: 32,250 lb (14,630 kg)
Power plant: 1 × Rolls-Royce F137-RR-100 turbofan engine, 7,600 lbf (34 kN) thrust
Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h)
Endurance: 28+ hours on station
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,288 m)

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[Jeff Head]

Actually USAF have 35 RQ-4 : 6 Block 20, 18 Bl 30, 11 Bl 40 and USN have 4 former USAF Block 10 for begin test and 3 MQ-4C.
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I believe, as of the start of 2015, that there were 16 "A" (Block 10) aircraft, and 42 of 45 "B" (Block 20/30/40) aircraft had been procured.

 

[Jeff Head]

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WASHINGTON — After multiple attempts to end the Global Hawk Block 30, the US Air Force has now included the high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned system in two straight budget requests, giving a sense of stability to the program — and allowing operators to turn their eyes to future upgrades.

The service had wanted to retire the Global Hawk and funnel that money into keeping the manned U-2 flying. But intense pressure from congressional allies of manufacturer Northrop Grumman kept the Global Hawk alive. Now, it appears set to be the high-altitude option for the future.

In last year's budget, the Air Force sought to retire the U-2 immediately, but Congress again intervened. In this year's budget request, the service instead said it plans to retire the U-2 in 2019, providing a buffer zone during which the Global Hawk can be upgraded.

Lt. Gen. Bob Otto, deputy chief of staff for ISR, called it a "smart move" to stretch the life of the U-2 out to 2019, in part because it gives the service time to develop and procure upgrades to the unmanned system.

"So one of the things we've got to do if we're going to divest the U-2 is invest in the Global Hawk," Otto told an Air Force Association event Feb. 18.

He also stressed that while price per flying hour is not the end-all metric, the Global Hawk's ability to cut its price in half in the last two years has made planning to invest in its future much easier.

Northrop announced in February that it had driven flying-hour costs down to $14,876 in 2014. That number was $24,336 in 2013 and $33,598 in 2012. That cost drop occurred as the RQ-4 saw a 40 percent increase in flying hours between 2013 and 2014.

So what upgrades are needed? In addition to a weather radar, one major upgrade is a universal payload adapter, which would allow Global Hawk to carry a wider range of electro-optical/infrared sensors, as well as legacy systems such as the U-2's wet film optical bar camera.

Mick Jaggers, Northrop's Global Hawk program manager, said the company is focused on developing the adapter as quickly as possible.

Jaggers said Northrop is paying for the adapter development using internal research and development money, and the company is "almost complete with our physical interfaces" on the program. The next step is to attach a sensor of the Air Force's choosing to the adapter and run a series of tests, including live-flight testing, to prove the system works.

Northrop intends to finish its proof of concept before the end of the year, although Jaggers noted that schedule is partly at the mercy of the Air Force, which would have to lend the company a Global Hawk for tests. Once approved, the plan is to push the open payload architecture to all future Block 30 models, including international customers.

Otto hopes to have clarity before the end of the year on what those upgrades would look like, how much they will cost, and when they can be completed.

"I think we'll know a lot in the next six months as we find out where Congress is going to be on the budget this year," he said. "I think we're going to have to get a better feel for Congress and where their appetite is, where they're willing to spend money and where they aren't willing to, before" a final timetable is established.

International Growth

The Global Hawk and its maritime Triton variant play a large role in Northrop's plans for future international sales.

The company scored a bit of a marketing coup when it arranged for a US Air Force Global Hawk Block 30 to arrive at the Avalon Air Show in Australia, the first time the aircraft has appeared at an international trade show.

He also praised the US Air Force for its willingness to send an asset to Australia for the show, noting it "shows the strong linkage and collaboration between the two nations ... the interoperability and the commonality there will be a significant asset for both nations."

The Royal Australian Air Force announced last year it will procure the MQ-4C Triton to meet its maritime surveillance requirement. The Triton, a variation on the RQ-4 being developed for the US Navy, comes equipped with an active, electronically scanned array advanced radar and the ability to go below cloud cover.

Although details are still being finalized, the information released by Australia indicated it plans to purchase seven MQ-4Cs.

Jaggers sees potential for a future consortium of Pacific nations to buy into the Global Hawk program, similar to the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance program, in which 15 NATO nations will share costs to operate five Global Hawk Block 40s.

"When I look at the body of water, the oil reserves, the fisheries, all the things that require an airplane with the wide-area surveillance you get with a Global Hawk, those are perfect opportunities for people to find those common grounds and figure out a way to use this technology to help those nations," Jaggers said.

 

[Jeff Head]

Good thread but is there enough news or discussion to keep it going? How about it be a unmanned vehicles thread or unmanned surveillance? Just a suggestion.

I think that there is a LOT of news out there about these two aircraft...both the BAMS MQ-4C, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk.

I believe there will be (and is a lot of international interest so it will not be soley related to the US.

Time will tell.

 

[Jeff Head]

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Australia has announced plans to buy the MQ-4C Triton — a maritime version of America’s largest unmanned aircraft, the Global Hawk.

“These aircraft will patrol Australia’s vast ocean approaches, and work closely with other existing and future Australian Defence Force assets to secure our ocean resources, including energy resources off northern Australia, and help to protect our borders,” according to a joint news release from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Defence Minister David Johnston.

Australia has one of the largest exclusive economic zones in the world, encompassing vast swathes of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Its proximity to developing Muslim nations in South East Asia means authorities there must grapple with issues such as terrorism and large-scale illegal immigration by refugees in small boats.

Northrop Grumman, the aircraft’s manufacturer, states on its website that the Triton provides real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over vast ocean and coastal regions. “Supporting missions up to 24 hours, the high-altitude UAS (unmanned aerial system) is equipped with a sensor suite that provides a 360-degree view of its surroundings at a radius of over 2,000 nautical miles,” the website states.

The Triton looks like the Global Hawk — which has seen extensive service in Iraq and Afghanistan — but the resemblance is skin deep.

The front edges of the aircraft’s wings have been toughened to withstand bird strikes, while its electronics are designed to withstand power surges from lightning, according to Capt. James Hoke, program manager for the Navy’s Persistent Maritime Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office in Patuxent River, Md.


The Navy version of the drones also have stiffer wings that allow them to dive below 10,000 feet to get a closer look at targets floating on the water.

The drone, in combination with new manned P-8A Poseidon jets, was intended to replace the Navy’s aging fleet of 250 P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, Hoke said.

Northrop Grumman’s website states that the Navy’s program of record calls for 68 aircraft to be built.

New facilities and infrastructure worth $140 million will be built at Royal Australian Air Force Base Edinburgh, in the South Australian city of Adelaide, to accommodate the new aircraft, Australian officials said. The total number of Triton UAVs to be acquired and their introduction into service date will be further considered by the government in 2016, the officials said.

 

[kwaigonegin]

This is a GREAT capability boost for the Navy. We've been needing something like this forever. Do you know if the wings fold?

 

[FORBIN]

I believe, as of the start of 2015, that there were 16 "A" (Block 10) aircraft, and 42 of 45 "B" (Block 20/30/40) aircraft had been procured.

Build by small batch difficult know but for USAF i am sure and all her Bl 10 retired since recent years except 4 for USN maybe a part modified ?