DEPLOYDatabase

Deployment

RQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base

High-altitude long-endurance reconnaissance UAV. 30+ hour endurance, 60,000 ft altitude, all-weather ISR platform. US and NATO operator.

RQ-4 Global Hawk by Northrop Grumman · Operated by Northrop Grumman · Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified · Drones

Track RQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base

Recent coverage

See all coverage →

Machine-readable surfaces

The United States Air Force 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) at Beale Air Force Base, Yuba County, California is the primary Global Hawk operating unit. The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron (12 RS) at Beale became the first operational Global Hawk unit; Initial Operational Capability for the Block 10 RQ-4A variant was declared in 2004.

As of 2024 the USAF operates ~30 RQ-4B Block 30/40 aircraft from Beale and its forward operating locations. The 548th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group at Beale processes and exploits Global Hawk imagery. The aircraft has conducted persistent wide-area ISR from Beale across Middle East, Indo-Pacific, and European theaters.

Key facts

Primary unit
9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW), 12th Reconnaissance Squadron (12 RS), Beale AFB
Variant
RQ-4B Block 30/40; ~30 aircraft in USAF inventory as of 2024
IOC
2004 (Block 10 RQ-4A); Block 30 from ~2011
Altitude / endurance
60,000 ft; 34-hour on-station

Safety record

No incidents on record for RQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-07-10
Model
RQ-4 Global Hawk
Company
Northrop Grumman
Location
United States/California/Beale Air Force Base
Operator
Northrop Grumman
Status
operational
Operator type
customer deployed
First seen
2004-01-01
ID
8b0c62e5-4f95-4012-93ab-eef72e15da0b

Timeline

  1. Jan 2004
    First recorded
    RQ-4 Global Hawk first documented operating at Beale Air Force Base.
  2. Jul 2026
    Current status: operational, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

RQ-4 Global Hawk operates in Beale Air Force Base. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (2)

  1. https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104516/rq-4-global-hawk/ · 2023-01-01
  2. https://www.northropgrumman.com/what-we-do/air/global-hawk/ · 2023-01-01
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (2 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-10

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

2
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for RQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base.

Common questions

What is the RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment at Beale Air Force Base?
RQ-4 Global Hawk, built by Northrop Grumman, is recorded as a deployment at Beale Air Force Base on the DEPLOY registry. Northrop Grumman operates the deployment directly.
Who operates RQ-4 Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base?
Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer of RQ-4 Global Hawk, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment at Beale Air Force Base go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting January 1, 2004 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment at Beale Air Force Base?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

Deploy Watch

Track this deployment.

We notify you when status changes against primary-source evidence, contract events surface, or a related incident is filed.