Northrop Grumman has unveiled the first production version of the next generation Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle—the Block 20 RQ-4B. The new version of the high-flying—and much in demand—UAV has to go through a series of final systems tests and a flight test program at Edwards AFB, Calif., before it goes to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif. At a ceremony Aug. 25 at Northrop’s Antelope Valley Manufacturing Center in Palmdale, Calif., US Rep. Wally Herger (R-Calif.) noted that USAF has been operating earlier Global Hawk UAVs “in combat today in ways never imagined.” The Block 20 greatly surpasses the Block 10 in payload-hauling capability and power.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.