EYE IN THE SKY GLOBAL HAWK GETS FAA OK FOR ROLE IN HOME SECURITY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - In a move that opens the way for the unmanned Global Hawk to be used for homeland security missions, the Federal Aviation Administration granted authorization for the aircraft to fly in national airspace.

Prior to the national Certificate of Authorization, or COA, Global Hawk flights were limited to restricted ranges.

In the past, the Global Hawk has received authorization to fly in some FAA regions in order to support military exercises, but only after a time- consuming approval process. The COA allows the Air Force to shorten normal processing and approval time for Global Hawk flights from approximately 60 days to as few as five days, Air Force officials said.

``While this COA includes provisions and limitations to preserve the safety and integrity of the national airspace, we'll continue to work with the FAA as Global Hawk's capabilities evole,'' said Col. Steve Coale, the Air Force's Global Hawk program director. ``Ultimately, we want Global Hawk to operate like a manned platform where we just file a flight plan and off we go.''

There are about 50 pages of restrictions and limitations, particularly for when the aircraft is flying under 18,000 feet.

``They can't just throw it up there,'' said FAA spokesman Don Walker. ``Every flight they do has to go through an approval process. Every flight has to be coordinated with the FAA and approved ahead of time.''

The federal government is very interested in the possibility of using Global Hawk aircraft to support homeland security and drug enforcement missions.

The U.S. Coast Guard wants seven Global Hawks to be part of a program called Deepwater, a $17 billion effort to replace or modernize the service's ships and aircraft over the next three decades.

The Coast Guard wants to use the high-altitude, long-endurance mission aircraft - which can stay aloft for more than 24 hours at a time - to help catch drug smugglers, stop illegal immigrants, and to spot possible terrorists.

The Coast Guard is looking to start using the Global Hawks in 2010. It has not been decided whether the Coast Guard would buy the aircraft or lease them from the Air Force or Navy.

A Global Hawk robot spy plane will fly along Central and South American coasts sometime early next year in a test to determine whether the unmanned airplane can track aircraft used in drug smuggling. The test will involve searching for and identifying certain aircraft commonly used in drug trafficking.

The South American test is required by Congress and will be performed under the guidance of the Defense Department's Southern Command, whose mission includes countering drug trafficking from Central and South America. Congress allocated $18 million for the test two years ago and directed that it be carried out under ``conditions typically encountered in the performance of counter-drug surveillance.''

That test, however, has been postponed twice by war, first by the Afghanistan campaign after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, and again this year by the Iraq war.

Over half of the Global Hawk program's 3,000 hours of flying time have been conducted supporting war efforts.

Shorter in length than an F-16 fighter, the Global Hawk has a wingspan of 116 feet, 22 feet longer than a Boeing 737. The aircraft is designed to fly as high as 65,000 feet and stay in the air over a designated area for 24 hours or more.

The aircraft are designed to fly themselves with preprogrammed missions but can receive commands from a pilot operating from a ground station.

The Global Hawk's radar is capable of detecting objects 100 miles away, and its cameras provide still images clear enough to identify targets as far away as 30 miles.

Jim Skeen, [phone]

james.skeen(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) The Global Hawk robot spy plane, a high-altitude, long-endurance mission aircraft - can stay aloft for more than 24 hours.

Northrop Grumman