The US Army has selected Northrop Grumman to develop the RangeHawk prototype, a modified RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft intended to enhance the efficiency and frequency of hypersonic weapons testing. The new platform is expected to replace the existing ship-based data collection approach, which requires extensive coordination, high operational costs, and long deployment timelines. Valued at $325.5 million, the contract tasks Northrop Grumman with developing a flexible payload architecture capable of rapidly integrating different mission systems through 2031. The effort follows an earlier award to AeroVironment for integrating phased-array telemetry receivers onto the aircraft to support real-time hypersonic flight-test data collection. Currently, hypersonic testing operations depend on naval vessels stationed along designated ocean test ranges to gather telemetry and intelligence data from missiles traveling along their flight paths. Due to the logistical challenges involved in moving and positioning these ships, conducting hypersonic tests has remained a slow and resource-heavy process. Since 2023, three RangeHawk aircraft converted from older Block 10 RQ-4 variants have reportedly helped reduce test preparation cycles from months to mere days. Under the Pentagon’s SkyRange program, approximately two dozen additional Block 20 and Block 30 Global Hawks are planned for conversion to sharply increase the number of annual hypersonic tests. Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds greater than Mach 5 while maintaining maneuverability, making them highly challenging to detect and intercept using conventional air defense systems. The United States has been working to close the capability gap with China and Russia, both of which have already deployed operational hypersonic missiles. To accelerate development, the Pentagon is advancing several programs, including the Army’s Dark Eagle system, alongside major investments in testing infrastructure such as the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed and the Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities program.
