GROWING FLEET MAIDEN FLIGHT A SUCCESS FOR ANOTHER GLOBAL HAWK.

Byline: Daily News

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Another Global Hawk test aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight last week, touching down after a 4 1/2-hour initial test flight.

Arriving April 23 from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, where it was assembled by Northrop Grumman workers, the craft joins three other Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicles undergoing flight-testing at Edwards Air Force Base.

``The sortie met all of our objectives,'' said Lt. Col. Michael Guidry, director of the Global Vigilance Combined Test Force at Edwards. ``The initial quick look gave us a good assessment of the overall health of this aircraft.''

Controlled by computer, the unmanned aircraft can fly 1,200 miles, linger over its target for 24 hours at nearly twice the altitude of a passenger jetliner, and then fly back.

Global Hawks are equipped with radar capable of picking up objects 100 miles out and with cameras that provide still images clear enough for targets as far away as 30 miles to be identified. Guidry said the new arrival will boost the test force's ability to support both testing and operational needs.

The Global Hawk saw an early operational debut when it was deployed to Afghanistan, even though the program is in the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of production.

``This new aircraft will help us support quick-reaction testing of the Global Hawk,'' Guidry said. ``Based on requests we get from the field, we can incorporate real-time changes to the aircraft. This allows our test force to develop a better weapon system for everyone who takes it into combat.''

According to Guidry, the test force expects delivery of the first production-representative aircraft this fall.

The Air Force announced last month it was paying Northrop Grumman $300 million for studies to improve the Global Hawk so it can carry more surveillance equipment and stay aloft longer.

Awarded in two contracts, the funding will cover engineering and manufacturing development studies aimed at boosting the aircraft's carrying capability from 2,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds.

The studies will also look at improving the aircraft's staying power from 24-hour-plus missions to 36-hour-plus missions.

Work will be done at the company's plants in Palmdale and San Diego and at Edwards Air Force Base.

Among the things that Northrop Grumman will look at is the possibility of equipping the aircraft to carry sensors and other gear that could be popped on or popped off depending on the mission requirements.

The studies are to be completed in 2006.

Northrop Grumman has built six Global Hawks so far. One crashed in March 1999 near China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Another crashed in December in an undisclosed country while on its way back to its base.

The Pentagon wants an additional 17 aircraft to be built by 2006.

The company is now preparing its Palmdale plant for the increased production rate from two aircraft a year to four or five a year. About 60 people are employed at Palmdale for Global Hawk production.

The aircraft are being developed for the U.S. Air Force, but the U.S. Navy and Australian defense officials are also interested in the program for possible maritime patrols. There are also discussions about developing a version of the aircraft for European allies, a project called Euro Hawk.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) A Global Hawk spy plane is towed away after landing at Edwards Air Force Base following its maiden flight.