Ex-military spy drone to conduct NASA climate tests in Australian airspace

Updated

US space agency NASA is preparing to launch drone missions high in Australian skies during the next six weeks.

NASA is operating an ex-US Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) - the largest, most sophisticated drone in operational service today.

With the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airliner and a flight endurance exceeding 30 hours, the Northrop-Grumman Global Hawk, costing a hefty $US200 million each when fitted out with sophisticated eavesdropping equipment, is designed to circle the globe on secret military Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

NASA Global Hawk Range: 20,300 kilometres

Endurance: 32 hours

Wingspan: 35.3 metres

Equipment payload: 1,500kg

Maximum take-off weight: 26,750kg

Engine: Single Rolls Royce AE3007H turbofan

Number in NASA service: 2 - Source: NASA

- Source: NASA

NASA announced that one of two ex-military Global Hawk it operates will conduct scientific missions from the US Pacific Island territory of Guam, "to track changes in the upper atmosphere and help researchers understand how these changes affect Earth's climate".

NASA says scientists have installed 13 different instruments on the Global Hawks to capture air samples, and analyse clouds, gases and solar radiation for the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) flights.

The Agency has previously launched drones to monitor hurricanes in the Atlantic, gathering data to assist in making more accurate predictions on tropical storms.

The first mission was due to take off on Tuesday, but NASA did not release details of any flights over Australia.

Pilots warned to look out for drone until March 2

However an AirServices Australia routine pilot alert, or NOTAM, indicates that the NASA Global Hawk will operate at short notice in Australian airspace at heights between 45,000 -60,000 feet from January 17 until March 2 this year.

The NOTAM states that Air Traffic Control will provide "separation" in the unlikely event that any local manned aircraft are operating at such extremely high altitudes.

Airservices Australia yesterday confirmed that the NASA Global Hawk would conduct tropospheric research in Brisbane's Flight Information Region (FIR).

"Brisbane's FIR covers an area including northern New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and northern Western Australia plus airspace over the north and north eastern oceans," a spokeswoman said.

"The Global Hawk will not operate over the Australian mainland or out of Australian airports.

"Airservices does not anticipate issuing further NOTAMs for Global Hawk operations."

The NASA missions will launch from the US Air Force's Andersen Air Base in Guam, the headquarters for all US military Global Hawk intelligence gathering operations in the Asia Pacific region.

US military Global Hawks also periodically deploy on civil missions.

In 2008 a US Navy Global Hawk monitored the progress of a massive forest fire that swept through California, and the US Air Force flew 20 Global Hawk missions in the aftermath of Japan’s 2011 tsunami and nuclear crisis, collecting radiation data and imagery over the stricken Fukushima reactor.

In November 2013 a Global Hawk operated over the typhoon-ravaged southern Philippines in support of relief efforts.

Designed as an intelligence gatherer

While Global Hawk is now proving useful in the civil world, the UAV's primary function is as a highly effective global electronic intelligence gathering platform.

In 2012 US intelligence analyst and author Matthew Aid told the ABC that: "Almost every day one of the US Air Force Global Hawks based on the island of Guam can be found flying off the North Korean coastline taking pictures of targets deep inside the country that are more detailed than those coming from satellites.

"They fly at 60,000 feet, 75 miles off the North Korean coastline, taking grainy shots taken from a 45-degree angle."

Mr Aid says the US and Australia shared much of the highly sensitive signals intelligence gathered by assets such as Global Hawk.

"Australia is a member of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence club that also includes the US, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand," he said.

He said that from 2002-05, Iranian diplomats routinely lodged diplomatic protests over US spy drones "flying daily signals intelligence and imagery collection missions along Iran's borders with Iraq and Afghanistan and along Iran's Persian Gulf coastline".

In 2012 ABC News Online reported that the US Air Force had flown classified Global Hawk missions from the Royal Australian Air Force at Edinburgh in South Australia from 2001-2006.

The intelligence gathering flights were revealed by a group of local Adelaide aviation enthusiasts who monitored aircraft radio frequencies.

The Australian Defence Force is now considering the acquisition of seven large, high altitude, long endurance drones for maritime surveillance and border protection.

The frontrunner for the $1.5 billion to $3 billion Air7000 Defence project is the Triton, a maritime variant of Global Hawk.

Since winning the 2013 federal election, the Coalition Government has backed away from a promise, made while in Opposition, to fast-track acquisition of Triton.

Having a NASA Global Hawk in Australian skies may also provide a convenient opportunity to assess if the largest, costliest unmanned aerial vehicle flying today represents value for money.

Topics: weather, science-and-technology, defence-and-national-security, defence-industry, guam, united-states, australia

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