Global Hawk in Ex Southern Katipo
An RQ-4 Global Hawk from the US Air Force (USAF) will take part in the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF’s) largest military exercise, Exercise Southern Katipo 2015.
The UAS, which will be operated remotely by USAF controllers within NZDF parameters, will be used by the Combined Joint Task Force to collect imagery of simulated adversary areas of interest.
The RQ-4 is based at Andersen, Air Force Base, Guam. It will travel from its home station to take part in the exercise and return to base in a single trip, thanks to its 28 hour endurance capability.
The exercise will provide the opportunity for planning and interoperability training between the NZDF and USAF personnel.
Major General Tim Gall, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said: ‘The Global Hawk is an asset to the exercise and will add to the airborne surveillance and reconnaissance capability that the Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion offers.’
The Global Hawk’s use in the exercise will be in accordance with the New Zealand Search and Surveillance Act 2012.
Exercise Southern Katipo takes place in the Buller, Tasman and Marlborough areas during October and November. It involves more than 2,000 military personnel, as well as fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, ships, Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV), and other military vehicles and equipment.
International participants include Australia, Canada, Fiji, French Forces of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Kingdom of Tonga, the UK, and the US.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
First flights of Rattler Supersonic Target prove successful
The US Department of Defense (DoD), along with QinetiQ, successfully conducted the first flights of the Rattler Supersonic Target MkI marking a significant advance in supersonic target technology.
-
Dedrone supplies CUAS systems to Ukraine and increases signal library
Dedrone has announced a strategic expansion via 16 new governmental contracts as the US-based CUAS company continued to develop its drone countermeasure technologies.
-
Baykar’s Akıncı UCAV completes live firing trials over the Black Sea
The Turkish company’s advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicle demonstrated its capabilities during successful live firing trials.
-
Iranian UAV threat leaves Israel’s defence industry searching for answers
Iran has continued to invest heavily in its drone-building capacity, supplying Russia and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, leading defence experts in Israel to call for more defensive solutions be developed to deter the threat from UAVs.
-
Emgepron and Tidewise team up to develop first ‘made-in-Brazil’ USV
Brazil's Emgepron and Tidewise have partnered to construct the Suppressor unmanned surface vessel by 2025 amid potential interest from the Brazilian Navy.
-
Autonomous navigation drives UUVs proliferation in the Indo-Pacific
The US Department of Defence has teamed up with Anduril Industries to develop advanced AI-driven long-range uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), countering China’s escalating UUV advancements.