Northrop Grumman · uncrewed military aircraft
RQ-4 Global Hawk
A large jet surveillance drone that flies pre-programmed missions on its own, including takeoff and landing, with crews on the ground monitoring and able to take control; it can stay up for more than 30 hours.
- Price
- —Average procurement unit cost was US$122.8 million in FY2014 (Congressional Research Service, 2022).
- Autonomy
- SupervisedHow it runs
- Driverless
- In serviceSince 2001
- Fleet
- 2026Reported; details below
- Speed
- 629.0 km/hFaster than 0%
- Payload
- 1360 kgToo few to rank
Why it matters
On 24 April 2001 it became the first pilotless aircraft to fly across the Pacific, non-stop from California to South Australia in about 22 hours.
Real-world use
In US Air Force service since 2001, also flown by NATO, South Korea and Japan; over 320,000 fleet flight hours (Northrop Grumman).
Timeline
- First shown
- 1998-02-28
- Released
- 2001-11
Maker
Northrop GrummanCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Driverless in service
- Where it runs
- US Air Force, NATO (Sigonella), South Korea, Japan
- Driverless since
- 2001
- Fleet
- not confirmed for 2026 in sources opened
- Rides, miles or loads
- more than 320,000 flight hours (Northrop Grumman)
How it stacks up
Against other military aircraft that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
RQ-4 Global Hawk is heavier than 67% of the 3 other military aircraft that publish a weight. Bars show the 3 closest in date.
RQ-4 Global Hawk is faster than 0% of the 3 other military aircraft that publish a speed. Bars show the 3 closest in date.
Too few military aircraft publish a payload to rank it. Bars show the 2 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
How much public attention RQ-4 Global Hawk gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
Lineage
Every Northrop Grumman vehicle in order.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedAverage procurement unit cost was US$122.8 million in FY2014 (Congressional Research Service, 2022).
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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