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.
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