Unmanned Global Hawk operations begin at RAF Fairford
August 26, 2024
A US Air Force Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Unmanned Aircaft System (UAS) arrived at Royal Air Force Fairford, England, for a temporary deployment on Thursday, 22 August. This marked the first RQ-4 deployment to the UK, and represented the largest ever UAS to land in Britain.
The USAF said that the deployed RQ-4 would “conduct operations through international and Allied airspace in accordance with international norms and standards.” The USAFE-AFAFRICA Public Affairs office said that: “The support and execution of these missions demonstrate US commitment to NATO Allies and partners and set conditions for potential future operations in the US European Command area of responsibility.” It has been said that the UK Ministry of Defence views the RQ-4 flights as being “strategically and operationally vital.”
The deployment also signified the next step in USAFE-AFAFRICA’s (U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa’s) implementation of the US Air Force’s agile combat employment (ACE) concept. Under ACE aircraft are dispersed from their typical operating locations to alternate airfields. This enhances survivability and allows integration with regional Allies. .
RAF Fairford has no based aircraft but its 501st Combat Support Wing at RAF Fairford routinely supports deployed operations, including U-2 reconnaissance missions and Bomber Task Force deployments by B-1B and B-52 Stratofortress aircraft.
The RQ-4B (serial number 11-2046, and using the callsign FORTE12) had taken off from Naval Air Station Sigonella, on the island of Sicily, the previous day. The aircraft had flown a mission along the western Ukrainian, Belarussian and Russian borders, flying over Eastern Europe, the Baltic states and Finland before landing at Fairford.
The flight was the first of two planned for August and was intended to ensure that Global Hawk flight operations complied with the conditions set by the UK regulatory authorities.
The operation of large unmanned vehicles over the busy South of England (within 70 miles of London’s Heathrow airport, and a similar distance from Birmingham) has raised some concerns, not least since the RQ-4 is not believed to have the ‘sense and avoid’ capabilities required to operate in unsegregated airspace. The UK CAA (Civilian Aviation Authority) has therefore established an approved corridor (the EDG218 segregated airspace complex) for the RQ-4 to operate within. This will be activated for three hour periods as required, and operations from Fairford “will likely be timed for nighttime hours to minimize the impact on civilian air traffic in the vicinity, as the aircraft climbs to or descends from its 50,000-foot operating altitude.”
