EQ-4 Global Hawk ‘Workhorse’ Helping in Fight Against ISIL

By Tactical-Life

The following is a release from Tech. Sgt. Frank Miller, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing:

As the morning sun beat down on its nearly 131-foot wingspan, the EQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft descended from its 60,000-foot perch for the 500th time, coming to rest at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Nov. 11.

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The Veterans Day landing was a historic one for the Global Hawk. It was the first time that a single weapon system reached the 500-sortie milestone, and with nearly 13,000 flight hours logged, this weapon system is living up to the nickname “workhorse.”

“We call this one the workhorse because it’s putting in all the hours,” said Staff Sgt. Bradley, a 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron tactical aircraft maintainer craftsman. “Reaching 500 flights is a pretty big accomplishment, especially for how new the fleet is.”

Battlefield commanders rely upon several different configurations of the Global Hawk to provide the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities they require.

“These platforms are on both ends of the kill table, from developing targets to enabling strikes through communications they provide,” said Col. John, the 380th Expeditionary Operations Group commander.

Three RQ-4 Global Hawks were …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life