A PIONEER RETIRING? SPY PLANE RECEIVES HERO'S WELCOME AFTER 4 YEARS ON THE ROAD.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - An unmanned Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft received a hero's welcome Monday when it returned to Edwards Air Force Base after four years of duty in the War on Terror.

Just before noon, Global Hawk air vehicle 3 touched down at Edwards after completing the final leg of its journey home, a 23-hour flight from Australia. As it taxied to its hangar, the airplane was given a ceremonial dousing by two fire engines.

The airplane was being honored because during its four years of war service it recorded more than 35,000 images of targets and logged 4,245 of the 5,000-plus combat hours flown by Global Hawk aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan.

``We are celebrating the air vehicle that is our most graceful and powerful of our racehorses and the one with the most stamina,'' said Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center.

The airplane originally was part of a technology demonstration aimed at proving it was possible to field a high-altitude, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. But the program, and air vehicle 3, were pressed into combat duty after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Battle commanders needed the aircraft's ability to travel long distances and stay over of areas of interest for as much as 24 hours at a time.

``We took this science project and said, you want it, you got it,'' Bedke said.

Among its battle missions were flights in support of the coalition troops push to Baghdad in 2003. During a fierce weeklong sandstorm that cut visibility down to as little as 30 feet, the airplane was able to track a division of the Republican Guard, according to officials. That information allowed coalition forces to use their aircraft to hammer the division.

``It saved lives by identifying targets before they could harm our troops,'' said Maj. Mike Lyons, a Global Hawk operator of the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base in Northern California.

The aircraft has been adorned with silhouette markings noting its missions, both test and combat. The markings include depictions of Taliban soldiers with swords in both hands, denoting the initial Afghanistan campaign; pot-bellied Saddam Hussein images, denoting initial missions in the Iraq war; and kangaroos, denoting test missions in Australia.

The airplane also bears the signature of comedian Drew Carey, who also wrote the greeting ``Hi there, sucker'' on the plane's nose gear door during a USO tour.

The Global Hawk aircraft are primarily flown by onboard computers using preprogrammed instructions. The aircraft, however, can be flown by or have a preprogrammed mission adjusted by a ground operator who adjusts the plane's flight through clicks of a computer mouse rather than a joystick.

For missions, the initial taxiing and takeoff are performed by a ground crew based at the airfield being used by the aircraft. About an hour into the flight, control of the airplane's mission is handed off to a ground crew that can be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Missions over the Middle East were actually controlled by crews at Beale.

The aircraft's return to its base is handed back to ground crew at that base.

It is not yet known what will become of air vehicle 3. Program officials said that with the new Global Hawks now in service it is fairly certain air vehicle 3 has flown its last combat mission.

The first two production model RQ-4A Global Hawks have been deployed to the Middle East.

A larger, more capable version of the Global Hawk is in production. Northrop Grumman is building seven of the RQ-4B Global Hawks in Palmdale, said Gary Ervin, sector vice president of Northrop Grumman's integrated systems division. The first of those is scheduled to begin testing this summer or in the fall.

The ``B'' model aircraft are larger versions of the RQ-4A aircraft already in service. The B models are designed to carry 3,000 pounds of equipment, compared with 2,000 pounds carried by the RQ-4As.

The Global Hawk aircraft are being built by a small cadre of Northrop Grumman workers in Palmdale. Although employment numbers on the program are small, Antelope Valley officials soliciting other programs point to the Global Hawk as an example of the region's technical know-how.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 3 -- color) Northrop Grumman's first Global Hawk spy plane was greeted on its return home Monday at Edwards Air Force Base by Maj. Mike Lyons, top, who logged 278 hours flying the prototype, and Alfredo Ramurez, below, the plane's designer.

(4 -- 6) After logging 4,200 flight hours and four years on duty, Northrop Grumman's pioneer Global Hawk, far right, returned to Edwards Air Force Base on Monday with a note from Drew Carey, right, and to an audience of military and civilian admirers, below.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News