American scouts in the Ukrainian sky
In February 2022, the degree of tension around Ukraine, fueled by constantly published materials in the Western press, reached its highest point. It got to the point that the British media called the specific date of the alleged Russian invasion - the night and early morning of February 16th. An even earlier date appeared in the American press - February 15, which, in particular, was written about in the Bloomberg agency.
Neither on February 15 nor on February 16, of course, no invasion followed. Earlier, representatives of the Russian government and the Foreign Ministry have repeatedly stated that Russia is not going to attack anyone. However, it was precisely on these days, starting from February 13-14, that the activities of the American intelligence aviation reached its peak in the region. The RQ-4 Global Hawk strategic reconnaissance drone hung in the Ukrainian sky almost around the clock.
The drone demonstratively cut circles along the Russian-Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Belarusian border with transponders on, flying at an altitude inaccessible to civil aviation - 16-17 km. At various times on the flightradar24.com website for American flights drone up to 20 thousand users from all over the world watched online.
At the same time, one of the oldest American strategic reconnaissance aircraft Boeing RC-135V made reconnaissance flights in the Black Sea along the coast of Crimea and the coast of the Krasnodar Territory. It is clear that American planes and drones were monitoring large-scale Russian military exercises and fleet.
Flights of the RQ-4A Global Hawk drone over Ukraine, screenshot from the service https://www.flightradar24.com
Reconnaissance Boeings with the call signs HOMER11 and HOMER31 have become the heroes of numerous News, as well as their colleagues in the RQ-4 Global Hawk workshop with the callsigns FORTE11 and FORTE12. The latter fly from the US naval base Sigonella in Sicily, where the 7th US Air Force Reconnaissance Squadron is based, which is armed with RQ-4 Global Hawk drones. What are these air scouts and what capabilities do they have?
Strategic reconnaissance drone RQ-4 Global Hawk
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is America's most advanced aerial reconnaissance weapon. The strategic unmanned reconnaissance vehicle was designed by the engineers of the American company Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, which is today a subsidiary of the large military-industrial company Northrop Grumman. The unmanned reconnaissance complex has become a full-fledged successor to such American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft as the Lockheed U-2 and Lockheed SR-71.
The first flight of the RQ-4 Global Hawk prototype took place on February 28, 1998, and serial production of the drone began in the first half of the 2000s. The US Air Force and Navy currently operate several dozens of such aircraft in the RQ-4A and RQ-4B modifications, which, in turn, went through various stages of modernization. For example, in the Block 40 version, the drone received the MP-RTIP (Multi Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program) multi-platform radar. The total flight time released by Global Hawk currently exceeds 320 hours.
The strategic drone was made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme. The fuselage of the drone is made of light and strong aluminum alloys, but the wing is completely made of composite materials. The recognizable V-tail of the Global Hawk is also made of composite materials.
RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk, photo: https://www.northropgrumman.com
The Global Hawk strategic reconnaissance drone has impressive flight capabilities. The UAV is able to stay in the sky for more than 30 hours (the record flight in March 2013 was more than 34 hours), making flights in a completely autonomous mode. The standard height of the drone is 16-18 kilometers, which provides excellent visibility for the UAV reconnaissance equipment. The flight range of the RQ-4B modification is 22 km.
Today, the RQ-4 Global Hawk is the largest production drone in the world, comparable in size to manned aircraft. The wingspan of the drone is 39,9 meters (for the RQ-4B), the takeoff weight is up to 14 tons. On April 23, 2001, an unmanned strategic reconnaissance aircraft set a record by becoming the first UAV to cross the world's largest ocean. The drone flew from the US to Australia, taking 23 hours and 20 minutes to cross the Pacific Ocean.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft are equipped with an advanced set of reconnaissance equipment - the HISAR integrated surveillance and reconnaissance system. This system includes a synthetic aperture SAR / MTI radar, optical and infrared sensors. All of them are able to work simultaneously, and the information received is processed by a single processor. Intelligence data can be transmitted to the ground, including to headquarters in real time within line of sight or via a satellite communication channel with a bandwidth of up to 50 Mbps.
SAR / MTI radar allows you to get a radar image of the earth's surface and objects located on it, regardless of meteorological conditions and the level of natural light at a distance that is comparable to aerial photographs. In a day, the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone with the SAR / MTI radar is able to process an area of 138 thousand square kilometers, which is larger than the area of South Korea or Iceland.
On modifications of the Block 40 drone, the MP-RTIP multi-platform radar system was introduced into the equipment. This is a modular radar with an AFAR array, which is able to track moving ground and air targets. In particular, it can be used to track ground vehicles and low-flying cruise missiles. Detection of moving targets is possible at a distance of up to 100 kilometers.
Boeing RC-135V strategic reconnaissance aircraft
The Boeing RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft is a real old-timer of the American military aviation. The first aircraft of this project have been in operation since 1961, its military debut came in the Vietnam War. During the Cold War, these aircraft were actively used by the Americans to monitor the launches of Soviet intercontinental missiles and the operation of air defense systems.
Today, the RC-135 is a whole family of large reconnaissance aircraft from Boeing (factory index Boeing 739). The aircraft itself was built on the basis of the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter four-engine transport aircraft, on the basis of which the KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft was also built. Both aircraft continue to be actively used by the US Air Force.
Reconnaissance aircraft of this type in the Boeing RC-135V version fly over Ukraine and the Black Sea, taking off from air bases in Germany and Crete. Unlike the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, which is comparable in size to fighter jets, the Boeing RC-135V reconnaissance aircraft, which are descended from transport aircraft, are large aircraft. The takeoff weight of these scouts can exceed 146 tons.
The flight performance of the RC-135V aircraft is noticeably more modest than that of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. The Boeing RC-135V has a practical flight range of 9100 km, the practical ceiling of the model is approximately 12 meters. At the same time, thanks to the presence of four CFM International F-000-CF-108 turbofan engines, the aircraft is able to reach a maximum speed of up to 201 km/h. Usually the aircraft carries out aerial radio reconnaissance for 930-4 hours, the duration of the missions directly depends on the distance from the bases.
The Boeing RC-135V/W is an electronic reconnaissance aircraft, literally studded like a porcupine with various antennas. A suite of onboard sensors and systems allows aircraft crew to detect, identify and locate signals across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. A distinctive feature of the aircraft is a nose fairing extended by more than two meters, which houses the AN / AMQ-15 reconnaissance and communications equipment. The crew of the aircraft consists of 3-4 people, in addition, up to 12-16 operators of reconnaissance systems work on board.
The composition of operators of reconnaissance systems allows for effective radio reconnaissance. For example, electronic warfare operators track in real time the location of air defense systems and enemy aircraft by their radar radiation thanks to the AEELS system installed on board the Boeing RC-135V. Another part of the operators works with the MUCELS system, monitoring intercepts performed by enemy fighters or their air defense systems.
RC-135V flights over the Black Sea, February 16, 2022, screenshot from https://www.flightradar24.com
In addition to them, some operators are engaged in monitoring the radar radiation of ground, sea and air-based objects, which complements the picture of the radar situation. All the information received flows to the members of the analytical working group, who assess the situation directly on board the aircraft. Also, all information received in the course of radio and electronic intelligence is promptly transmitted to the land and sea commands.
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