Northrop Grumman · Drones · 2001
Northrop Grumman's high-altitude, long-endurance strategic reconnaissance drone - the military's 'eye in the sky' that took over much of the U-2's mission. Powered by a single Rolls-Royce AE 3007H turbofan, the carbon-composite airframe with its very high-aspect-ratio wing and V-tail (RQ-4B: 39.9 m span, 14.5 m long, ~14,600 kg max takeoff weight) climbs above 60,000 ft and loiters 32-34+ hours (a record 33.1 h), ranging some 22,800 km at up to ~629 km/h. It carries a wide-area multi-sensor suite - synthetic aperture radar with ground-moving-target indication, EO/IR imaging and signals intelligence - relayed to ground stations over a Ku-band SATCOM link, and is unarmed. First flown in 1998 and in USAF service since 2001 (~50 built, ~$131M each), it spawned the RQ-4A/B, the NATO RQ-4D Phoenix, the German EuroHawk and the US Navy's maritime MQ-4C Triton.
Price on application
View full interactive profile, comparisons & videos → Check price on Amazon →| Category | Drones |
| Sub-type | HALE ISR UAV (high-altitude long-endurance) |
| Status | Active |
| Year | 2001 |
| Origin | USA |
| Weight | 14628 kg |
| Payload | 1360 kg |
| Max range | 22,780 km km |
| Use cases | Strategic ISR, Border / maritime surveillance, Battle damage assessment |
| Made in | USA |
