Non-Subscriber ExtractUS Air Force deploys Global Hawk to aid Haiti relief efforts |
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By Caitlin Harrington
18 January 2010
Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk is assisting with the humanitarian aid mission in Haiti by providing aerial imagery of the country, which suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on 12 January.
A Block 10 RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) departed from Beale Air Force Base in California on 13 January to provide observations of the damage caused by the earthquake.
The drone is a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft equipped with an integrated sensor suite that includes synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and medium-wave infrared sensors.
Imagery collected by the Global Hawk will be used to determine what regions of the country were hit hardest by the earthquake, Lieutenant Colonel (US Air Force) Mark Lozier, operations officer with the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron, said on 14 January.
The imagery will be used to provide an overall assessment of the damages and also to direct aircraft flying into Haiti to deliver supplies.
"We can take a look at airfields to assess, right now, whether or not we will be able to get airlift in there with aid," Col Lozier said. "We don't have to wait for a ground team to get in there and make on-site decisions."