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SAN DIEGO, Feb. 13, 2006 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) RQ-4A Global Hawk reconnaissance system is the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to achieve a military airworthiness certification. This certification, along with the Certificate of Authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, recognizes Global Hawk's ability to routinely fly within national airspace.
Global Hawk's military airworthiness was certified Jan. 25, 2006, by the U.S. Air Force. In granting the certificate, the Air Force determined that the Global Hawk system has a proven track record of safe and reliable operations.
"This is a historic event," said Randy Brown, Global Hawk Systems Group director with the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. "The aircraft was evaluated against over 500 technical criteria in order to get this certification."
This airworthiness certification covers all five production RQ-4A Global Hawk vehicles delivered to the Air Force thus far and outweighs civilian experimental airworthiness certifications that have been granted to other UAVs. The military airworthiness certification process is very rigorous and has taken 3 years and 77,000 man-hours to achieve. This is a continuous process that will be maintained through the life of the aircraft, similar to that for all manned aircraft.
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