According to a report published by Simple Flying, the United States Air Force may keep its RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft flying well into the 2030s. Specifically, the air force expects that the RQ-4 will continue to fly until 2033 to meet ongoing national defense and intelligence requirements.
The extension of the RQ-4 Global Hawk service life is driven by several strategic factors. These include the military's ongoing need for operational resilience, the desire to maintain a wider intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portfolio, and the fact that space-based capabilities remain relatively immature at this stage.
