US giant drone to be used to support hypersonic missile program
By
Colton Jones
Aug 28, 2022
Modified date: 13 seconds ago
U.S. arms maker Northrop Grumman announced this week that RQ-4 RangeHawk is poised to support the SkyRange program’s U.S. hypersonic missile flight tests from its Grand Sky facility near Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SkyRange is the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center’s (TRMC) unmanned high-altitude, long-endurance, responsive mobile flight test system.
In support of the SkyRange initiative, Block 20 and 30 RQ-4B Global Hawk aircraft are being transferred to TRMC to be reconfigured into RangeHawks. The conversion will integrate advanced payloads to equip the aircraft with the capability to support the testing of hypersonic vehicles and other long-range weapons. RangeHawks provide over-the-horizon altitude, endurance and flexibility, which are critical for collecting telemetry and other data to monitor the vehicle during flight tests. Increasing the capacity of hypersonic vehicle testing furthers research and development necessary to remain competitive in the global landscape.
https://defence-blog.com/us-giant-drone-to-be-used-to-support-hypersonic-missile-program/
