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High-altitude reconnaissance · Reusable · reconnaissance

Fixed-wing symbol

RQ-4 Global Hawk

A US high-altitude long-endurance reconnaissance family. Its incident relevance includes the RQ-4A BAMS-D aircraft lost near the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019. That naval demonstrator must not be relabelled MQ-4C Triton. Current RQ-4 fact-sheet dimensions describe another configuration and are not used to reconstruct the aircraft lost in that event.[1][2][3]

Design origin
United States[1]
Research edition
Compare types ↗
39.8 m14.5 mTop view

Body length[3] · Wingspan[3]

14.5 m · Side view · schematic
Top-view bounding dimensions share one metre scale. Internal contours and side profiles are schematic; height is not inferred. Ranges show their largest outline and retain their labels.

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

also known as RQ-4, RQ-4A, RQ-4B, Global Hawk, Глобал Хок

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

Press factsheet ↗Source-bound type data ↗

The numbers, with their sources

Intervals preserve the published bounds; they are not statistical confidence intervals. A blank lower or upper bound stays open. Values belong to the named configuration, not every aircraft.

Published flight range

Unknown in reviewed sources

Take-off mass

≤ 14628 kg[3]RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · 2014
Published upper limit

Payload

1360 kg[3]RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · 2014
Official report; not an independent test

Body length

14.5 m[3]RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · 2014
Official report; not an independent test

Wingspan

39.8 m[3]RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · 2014
Official report; not an independent test

Endurance

> 34 h[3]RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · 2014
Published lower limit

DRONELEDGER / SCALE LAB

Turn the scale plane

A flat, schematic outline in perspective, not a 3D model. Only sourced length and span are scaled; height and internal geometry are unknown. For intervals, the upper endpoints are drawn.

Turn the scale plane · RQ-4 Global Hawk1 m
Human · illustrative 1.8 m · RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D

14.5 m / 39.8 m[3]

Size in everyday terms

One scale. Different machines.

Top view
RQ-4 Global Hawk · 14.5 m / 39.8 mHuman reference · illustrative 1.8 m1 m
Side view · schematic
RQ-4 Global Hawk · 14.5 mHuman reference · illustrative 1.8 m1 m

RQ-4 Global Hawk · RQ-4B · USAF fact sheet current as of October 2014, not RQ-4A BAMS-D · Body length[3] · Wingspan[3]

Human height is an illustrative 1.8 m; bus length an illustrative 12 m. Car length uses the cited MINI specification. Vehicle heights and drone side contours are schematic. Top views preserve published length and span; an absent dimension is never guessed.

One car length here is 3.821 m: MINI Cooper 3 door, March 2020 specification.

In our archive

Not yet named as a model in this archive — sources usually say only “drone” or name the family.

Browse this category · High-altitude reconnaissance

Where this type appears

Counts follow model/family links in the archive. A general register link does not identify a model.

Family & configurations

RQ-4 Global Hawk

No sourced family relationship recorded in this edition. Similar roles do not establish a common design.

Form, sound & identification limits

  • CENTCOM’s statement explicitly identifies the lost aircraft as RQ-4A BAMS-D and gives the US account of disputed airspace. This is an attributed party account, not an independently adjudicated border finding. No flight path or incident coordinates are reproduced.[2]
  • Northrop Grumman independently describes the family’s design and ISR role. The Air Force’s 39.8 m span belongs to its fact sheet marked “current as of October 2014”, not a 2026 fleet specification. The source’s rounded metric dimensions are retained; no precision is invented by averaging feet and metres.[1][3]
  • Global Hawk, the EQ-4 communications configuration and MQ-4C Triton have different sensors and airframes. This profile does not infer sensor coverage, current deployment locations or a Triton incident from a Global Hawk report.[1][3]

Shape or sound alone cannot identify a drone. Follow local public-safety alerts; do not approach wreckage.

No licensed, model-attested recording is available in our sound library.

What does it cost?

Published USD figures use different price bases and years. Airframes, export packages and support are not equivalent. These are not current offers or verified production costs.

Unknown in reviewed sources

Countermeasures in public analysis

No type-specific, independently supported summary is included in this edition.

Source notebook

  1. Northrop Grumman · Global Hawk programme and persistent ISR

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Manufacturer claim

  2. US Central Command · RQ-4A BAMS-D loss statement

    2019-06-20 · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Official report; not an independent test

    Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable

  3. US Air Force · RQ-4 Global Hawk fact sheet (current as of October 2014)

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Official report; not an independent test

    Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable

Cite this profile

DroneLedger. RQ-4 Global Hawk. Research edition 2026-11-01. https://droneincidents.com/drones/rq-4-global-hawk/

Permanent research edition