By the beginning of August 2016, the total time spent by the aircraft fleet of unmanned strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the RQ-4C family in test flights and air reconnaissance operations exceeded 200 thousand hours, which is more than 22.8 years. This was announced at the end of July by the developer and manufacturer of the Northrop Grumman high-altitude strategic drone. From an altitude of more than 18.5 km, dozens of vehicles of various modifications and "blocks" have scanned about a billion square kilometers of land and sea surfaces in the most significant geostrategic regions of the planet over the past 15 years from the moment of initial combat readiness. The most "fruitful" Global Hawks missions for the United States traditionally take place within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, where the US Navy and Air Force closely monitor the actions of the Chinese Navy in the South China and East China Seas, and also observe the development trend of coastal boundaries Air defense and missile defense of the Celestial Empire.
Equipped with a powerful side-looking radar (BO) with AN / ZPY-2 MP-RTIP AFAR with a scanning range of 200 km and a synthetic aperture mode, the Global Hawk drones are capable of conducting high-altitude aerial surveillance of the enemy's territory for 30-33 hours. Modifications for the US Navy MQ-4C "Triton" have not only a more modern airborne radar AN / ZPY-3 MP-RTIP, but also a powerful optical-electronic sighting / sighting complex AN / DAS-3 EO / IR, operating in infrared and television channels. But in view of the entry of the world into a new era of global confrontation and network-centric wars, the American companies Raytheon and Northrop Grumman were instructed to carry out a deep modernization of the hardware base and software of strategic intelligence control systems.
The cost of the modernization contract is estimated at approximately $ 104 million. As reported by "Voenny Paritet" with reference to Western sources, the command and control points of the Global Hawks should receive an electronic element base with an open architecture, and the UAVs themselves are expecting a similar update. This will allow the RQ-4C and later the MQ-4C to take on board "various types of payloads." The sources do not report what kind of loads are in question, but from the practice of using UAVs of the "Predator" family, it is even logically possible to come to the conclusion that a strategic strike-reconnaissance drone was created on the basis of "Global Hawk", capable of not only performing reconnaissance without risking the operator's life, but also deliver pinpoint strikes at a distance of up to 5000 km without refueling.
Thus, the advertising sheet of the Northrop Grumman company contains the tactical and technical characteristics of the RQ-4 Block 40 UAV, among which the payload of 1360 kg is indicated. This makes it possible to place various high-precision weapons on the wing root sections and on the side surfaces of the fuselage. So, in the avionics of the drone, a control system for such weapons as the AGM-84H SLAM-ER with a range of 270 km can be integrated. This tactical long-range cruise missile can be equipped with a specialized multiple warhead, consisting of several self-aiming combat elements (SPBE) BAT ("Brilliant Anti-Tank"), which with the help of IKGSN and acoustic guidance sensors can destroy ground armored vehicles and other enemy targets with high efficiency, not equipped with active protection systems and not covered by means of reducing infrared radiation and military air defense.
The SLAM-ER missile itself is also equipped with an infrared seeker, which has an ATA automatic target acquisition system. When approaching the target, the on-board computer software of the rocket compares the previously obtained template with a digital photograph of the target with an image on an infrared matrix, and produces a clear selection. If the priority of targets changes during the flight of the AGM-84H, the operator can correct the target designation already on the approach. Such two-way communication equipment with a rocket can be installed aboard the Global Hawk and Triton in a matter of days, turning the reconnaissance drone into a sophisticated stratospheric assassin. The AN / ZPY-2 MP-RTIP radar belongs to the complexes capable of issuing target designation on its own, due to which the Global Hawk absolutely does not need target designation of third-party reconnaissance means to perform an air operation.
There is also the technical possibility of placing more long-range missile weapons, for example, AGM-158B missiles. These stealthy tactical missiles can attack the enemy within a radius of up to 1200 km. Thus, RQ / MQ-4 are transformed into strategic missile carriers for a local precision strike.
The latest RQ-4 "Global Hawk" and MQ-4C "Triton" modifications are expensive. The price of one aircraft can be about 150 - 170 million dollars, which is equivalent to the unobtrusive promising F-22A "Raptor" fighter. And therefore, the command of the US Navy and Air Force is not putting their losses on the agenda. Already today, the plans of the military departments and "Northrop" may include the idea of equipping the drone with a defensive anti-missile system based on the "gas-dynamic" super-maneuverable SACM-T interceptors (formerly known as CUDA), capable of eliminating enemy long-range anti-aircraft guided missiles and air-class missiles on approach -air "by the kinetic destruction of their combat equipment by the" hit-to-kill "method.
At the moment, preparatory work is underway to update the hardware of the MCE (Mission Control Element) drone ground control point. Ahead is the installation of a two-way data exchange module with new "peripheral" devices on the drone and the installation of new interfaces for displaying these devices on the displays of automated workstations of operators MCE It is likely that by 2025, our and Chinese specialists will have to look for new methods of countering these dangerous autonomous machines coming from the dark distant near space.
