Video by Tech. Sgt. Matthew Pardini U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs380th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron maintainers preparing an EQ-4 Global Hawk for it's first launch. Scenes include the preparation for flight, the launch of the aircraft and a wingman car trailing the aircraft down the runway. Produced by Staff Sgt. Matthew Pardini.The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance aircraft. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. In role and operational design, the Global Hawk is similar to the venerable Lockheed U-2. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and long-range electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas. It can survey as much as 40,000 square miles (103,600 square kilometers) of terrain a day.The Global Hawk is operated by the United States Air Force, Navy and the German Air Force. It is used as a high-altitude platform for surveillance and security. Missions for the Global Hawk cover the spectrum of intelligence collection capability to support forces in worldwide military operations. According to the United States Air Force, the capabilities of the aircraft allow more precise targeting of weapons and better protection of forces through superior surveillance capabilities