Goodfellow Air Force Base in Tom Green County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
RQ-4A Global Hawk
Displayed - 9 February 2012
Speed: 400 mph • Range: 1,300+ miles
Ceiling: 65,000 ft • Cost: $35 million
Northrup Grumman developed the RQ-4 Global Hawk in response to a Department of Defense requirement for a high-altitude long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft. Aptly named, the Global Hawk could deploy to any point on the globe and then loiter, as a hawk, for as long as 24 hours at up to 65,000 feet while monitoring an area as large as 40,000 square miles.
The first flight of the RQ-4 took place in 1998, with delivery of the first pre-production vehicles to the [U.S.] Air Force five years later. Goodfellow's Global Hawk (S/N 02-2013) was part of Block 10, the first production block, and was accepted into the inventory in 2006. During the next four years it flew 285 missions, mainly in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, before retiring to Goodfellow in 2011 as the first Global Hawk to be placed on outdoor display. That was fitting, since it is Goodfellow that trains the geospatial intelligence analysts responsible for exploiting imagery produced by such platforms as the Global Hawk.
This vehicle is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Erected 2012 by United States Air Force.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Communications • Man-Made Features. A significant historical year for this entry is 1998.
Location. 31° 26.287′ N, 100° 24.566′ W. Marker is in Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, in Tom Green County. Marker is at the intersection of Kearney Boulevard and Canberra Street, on the right when traveling north on Kearney Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Goodfellow AFB TX 76908, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. RF-4C Phantom II (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named RF-4C Phantom II (within shouting distance of this marker); T-6G Texan (approx. 0.3 miles away); Goodfellow Field (approx. 0.3 miles away); EC-47 ARDF Operations in Southeast Asia (approx. 0.3 miles away); T-28A Trojan (approx. half a mile away); BT-13A Valiant (approx. half a mile away); Charles B. Metcalfe (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Goodfellow Air Force Base.
More about this marker. Access is restricted since marker is on an active United States Air Force base.
Also see . . .
1. Northrup Grumman Global Hawk. (Submitted on February 16, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Global Hawk EISS (Raytheon). (Submitted on February 16, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 16, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 738 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 16, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.