New Global Hawk exhibit opens at museum Published Aug. 15, 2008 DAYTON, Ohio (AFPN) -- Officials from industry, the Air Force and the National Museum of the United States Air Force gathered for the opening of the new RQ-4A Global Hawk exhibit Aug. 12 here. The Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system that sends near-real-time reconnaissance imagery to air, ground and sea forces. The RQ-4A, first flown in 1998, has seen service in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in several American and international joint forces exercises. Global Hawk's development highlights the effort to use new tools and technologies to give military commanders highly detailed targeting and intelligence information. The Global Hawk on display in the new exhibit flew more than 4,800 hours and provided hundreds of thousands of images in support of U.S. forces worldwide. It returned to the United States in February 2006 and came to the museum in 2008. "The Global Hawk UAV-3 provided unprecedented intelligence information to battlefield commanders almost continuously since being pressed into service in 2001, deploying three times in support of the global war on terrorism," said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Systems. "The men and women who built and operated this aircraft take great pride in its historic performance, logging more than 4,800 flight hours, 167 missions and hundreds of thousands of images." Mr. Guerra was one of the program's pioneers, helping to build several of the Global Hawks, including UAV-3. The Global Hawk now on display replaces an earlier model of the aircraft that was suspended from the ceiling in the museum's Modern Flight Gallery. The new exhibit is displayed in the same location. "The Global Hawk points to the future of our Air Force," said retired Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. "This exhibit gives our visitors the opportunity to get an up-close look at an aircraft that is serving in current operations and allows us to tell the stories of the men and women who are serving our country right now." Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page