50.59 (+0.76) 
Global Hawk
Global Hawk is a high altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system designed to provide military field commanders with high resolution, near-real-time imagery of large geographic areas. The superior performance of the Global Hawk’s system significantly enhances the U.S. military’s ability to prevail in all types of operations – from sensitive peacekeeping missions to full scale combat.
The system combines powerful sensor technology with a range that extends more than half way around the world and an ability to remain on station for long periods of time. These features enable the Global Hawk system to provide the warfighter with essential intelligence needed to achieve information dominance throughout the battlespace.
Global Hawk has provided Air Force and joint warfighting commanders thousands of actionable images to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
Integrated Mission Systems Enable Information Sharing
With its unmatched sensor technology and sophisticated ground support systems, the Global Hawk unmanned airborne system offers a dramatic warfighting advantage. A premier mission systems integrator, Raytheon developed the electronic sensors and ground-based segments that allow Global Hawk to excel at providing critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data to military field commanders.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Global Hawk supported U.S. and coalition forces by gathering more than 3,500 ISR images of potential Iraqi targets. Flying to aid the war’s air-breathing imagery intelligence missions, Global Hawk located 55 percent of time-sensitive targets, including enemy surface-to-air missile batteries and tanks.
According to the US Air Force, recently the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft is also being used on non-military missions to map environmental areas in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, at the request of partner nations.
Raytheon’s sensors provide high-resolution, multi-spectrum imagery of the regions to be used by local governments for purposes such as counternarcotics operations and monitoring the condition of the environment for deforestation, urbanization and beach erosion.
Called “eco-missions,” the Global Hawk’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities have now been utilized for six missions in 2008. Twelve eco-missions are scheduled to be flown in 2009.
Global Hawk’s airborne imagery has been used to track the effects of wildfires and hurricanes in the United States as well. Also, high-quality imagery can also be used to identify safe helicopter landing sites and areas to provide critical assistance to the area.
