Following on from the recent completion of the first flight of Japan’s first RQ-4B Global Hawk Northrop Grumman has performed the same exercise with the second of a planned three-strong fleet of the high-altitude, long-endurance platforms.

In a June 24 release the company stated that the second flight took place “recently”, around two months after the flight of the first aircraft on April 15 this year. The type is powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine, providing 8,500lb of thrust that contributes to the platform’s 35+ hours of flight endurance.

Speaking in April, Jane Bishop, VP autonomous systems at Northrop Grumman, said that the flight of Japan’s first RQ-4B was a “significant milestone in delivering Global Hawk to our Japanese allies.”

The request to purchase the platform was approved by the US State Department in November 2015 in a deal valued at US$1.2bn. In addition to the three RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft with Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite, Tokyo requested eight Kearfott inertial navigation system/Global Positioning System (INS/GPS) units and eight LN-251 INS/GPS units.

Capable of conducting on-demand intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the RQ-4B is currently operated by the US, Australia, NATO and South Korea.