Q Branch - Teledyne Ryan Tier II Plus Global Hawk

The biggest revolution facing the USAF in the 21st century may well be the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program, which has begun to introduce a range of high technology unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Under this program, three types of surveillance UAVs are to be developed. These are the high-altitude endurance (HAE) Global Hawk, known as Tier II Plus; the high altitude stealthy Dark Star or Tier III Minus; and the medium-altitude endurance (MAE) Tier II Predator.

The Global Hawk is a project of drone specialists, Ryan Teledyne. The UAV was rolled out on 20th February, 1997. After development following a first flight in mid-1997, the UAV is expected to be in service during 2000.

It is designed with the ability to take off from a base in the United States and fly autonomously to its target at 65,000 feet (19,810 m.), and provide all-weather high-resolution real-time reconnaissance for up to 36 hours before returning to base.