DTN News: Global Hawk Collects Reconnaissance Data During Haiti Relief Efforts

DTN News: Global Hawk Collects Reconnaissance Data During Haiti Relief Efforts *Source: By Master Sgt. Russell P. Petcoff Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - January 16, 2010: A Q-4 Global Hawk is providing imagery to determine the extent of damage to earthquake-stricken Haiti and usability of its infrastructure, an Air Force official said during a Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable Jan. 15. "A lot of images of destroyed buildings," said Col. Bradley G. Butz, the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing vice commander. They are looking at images of airports to find airfields to land aircraft, he added. The image quality and clarity is good enough whether or not an airfield can accept aircraft. "We've got pretty good coverage of the entire country of Haiti," Colonel Butz said. The Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft with an integrated sensor suite that provides worldwide ISR capability. The 480th ISR, based at Langley Air Force Base, Va., is providing its images to U.S. Southern Command officials for use by whomever needs the images, Colonel Butz said. The objective is mass distribution to people and organizations that need the images to support relief and recovery operations. These images can help determine the level of destruction since aerial images of Haiti exist from June 2009. Comparing the June 2009 and the January 2010 can give an indication of the extent of the disaster. Without context "we just don't know the impact," the colonel said. In addition, the Global Hawk provides assistance to Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division who are deploying to Haiti. The Global Hawk is providing images of where the Soldiers are deploying to help them prepare for their mission, Colonel Butz said. In role and design, the Global Hawk is similar to the Lockheed U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane. It is a theater commander's asset to both provide a broad overview and systematically target surveillance shortfalls. The Global Hawk air vehicle is able to provide high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)—that can penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms—and Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) imagery at long range with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (100,000 square kilometers) of terrain a day. Potential missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide peace, crisis, and wartime operations. According to the Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft will allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities. The "R" is the Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance; "Q" means unmanned aircraft system. The "4" refers to it being the fourth of a series of purpose-built unmanned aircraft systems. The Global Hawk costs about $35 million USD (actual per-aircraft costs; with development costs also included, the per-aircraft cost rises to $123.2 million USD each). The Global Hawk flew 14 hours Jan. 14, providing between 400 to 700 images, the colonel said. It is flying daily out of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The colonel said the Global Hawk will continue providing Haitian overflight support as long as the president requests. This is the first use of the Global Hawk in a disaster relief mission in the Caribbean, according to the colonel.