An aerial view of the damaged National Cathedral in Haiti from a U.S. Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aircraft Jan. 14. Aerial images are providing U.S. military planners valuable situational awareness as they coordinate U.S. military support to the Haiti relief effort. Courtesy of U.S. Southern Command and Air Force.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk, Northrop Grumman premier unmanned reconnaissance aircraft system, continues its persistent watch over Haiti. To date, the Global Hawk has flown six missions, approximately 130 hours, and provided more than 3,600 images of Port-au-Prince and areas damaged by the massive earthquake and ensuing aftershocks that rocked the Caribbean nation earlier this year.
On Jan. 13, a U.S. Air Force Block 10 Global Hawk was diverted by the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base from its trip en-route to support usual wartime operations in Afghanistan to assist in relief efforts after Haiti’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12.
A Global Hawk took off from its main operating base at Beale Air Force Base, flew to Haiti, and provided 12 hours of coverage over the disaster area before landing at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.
Subsequent missions were launched from Maryland to provide 14 to 16 hours of persistent watch over Haiti before landing back at Patuxent River.
The Global Hawk team collaborated with other agencies to assist in all aspects of recovery and relief. Officials and analysts from U.S. Southern Command in Miami, the 548th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Group from Beale Air Force Base, the 480th ISR Wing from Langley Air Force Base, and the Naval Air Systems Command Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstration program from Patuxent River helped provide critically needed imagery and information.
Capable of flying at altitudes up to 60,000 feet for more than 32 hours at a time at speeds approaching 340 knots, Global Hawk is equipped with an integrated sensor suite, which includes synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors. Global Hawk has supported previous humanitarian relief efforts, including the southern and northern California wildfires in 2007 and 2008, respectively, as well as Hurricane Ike in 2008.
