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Global Hawk Cutaway
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The RQ-4 Global Hawks isn’t a full successor to the famous U-2 spy plane just yet, which is why the USA is keeping its U-2s for now. It’s close, however, and some people have described the HALE UAV as the equivalent of having a photo satellite on station. Flying at 60,000 feet for 30-40+ hours at a time, the jet-powered UAV used sophisticated radars and other sensors to monitor developments on land, sea, and air over an area of about 40,000 square miles/ 100,000 square km. Reported image resolution has been described as 1 foot or less.

The USA has made effective use of Global Hawks since its formal unveiling in 1997, which has prompted interest from other countries. Germany will develop and induct its EuroHawk version under a EUR 430 million program, and NATO’s AGS system will now deploy Global Hawk UAVs instead of a more effective combination of Global Hawks and modified Airbus A321 jets. Outside of NATO, however, sales have reportedly been trickier. Four issues have worked to hold up potential sales – 2 of which are acknowledged openly.

South Korea ran afoul of all 4 of those issues, when the USA rejected their application to buy 4 of the larger RQ-4B UAVs in 2006. Now, it seems, the tide has turned…

RQ-4 Global Hawk
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International sales of Global Hawk UAVs typically run into 4 main issues.

One is sticker shock. The basic Global Hawk aircraft itself has a price that approximates a similar-sized high-end business or regional jet, at around $35-45 million. By the time its ultra-sophisticated sensors have been added, ground infrastructure put in place, and induction costs for a new platform are factored in, a small fleet of 5 or fewer systems can easily fetch a price tag of $100+ million per.

Another acknowledged issue is the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) treaty of 1987, which was amended in 1992 to include unmanned systems capable of delivering nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. This is somewhat ridiculous given the Global Hawks status as a pure reconnaissance platform. On the other hand, one might ask when that has ever stopped a lawyer. In response, the USA has put forward several solutions, including a multinational “Pacific Pool” run with US participation in a manner similar to NATO’s E-3 AWACS program.

The Global Hawk is currently a uniquely capable UAV, however, with no real competitors. This has added some export issues that are not discussed as openly.

Secrets are one issue that is not discussed openly, because of the sensitivities around telling a country that it cannot be trusted – even when that belief is well founded. Technology transfer is one aspect of this issue, given the sophistication of the UAV, its payloads, and its control systems. A more important sub-issue is discussed even less: the level of trust in the purchaser’s treatment of the kind of intelligence data a Global Hawk UAV can gather.

A linked issue that is not discussed openly involves the relationship between the USA and the purchasing country, along with evaluations of that ally’s future stability. Issues in these areas are not typically the sort of thing one airs in public, but any sale of very high-end military equipment must take this into account.

South Korea had requested Global Hawks in 2005, and again in 2006, after its efforts to field a national ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) capability over North Korea via projects like its modified Hawker Beechcraft 800XR business jets fell short in a key areas. The USA responded in 2006, and said no.

The MTCR treaty was cited as the grounds, but this was not the entire truth. South Korea also experienced some sticker shock over the price tag, but the main issue was the deterioration in Korean-American relations.

The Roh Moo-hyun administration had antagonized the USA over a number of issues, not least of which was a “sunshine policy” toward the North that often seemed to cross a line into state-supported anti-Americanism. A recent incident in which more ROK army cadets identified the USA as the prime threat to their country than North Korea speaks in part to that dynamic. When combined with evidence of business ties at senior levels involving North Korea, there were open questions about both the security of any technology transfers, and the security of any information South Korean RQ-4s might gather about the North.

The new Lee Myung-bak administration has significantly better relations with the USA. Sure enough, the USA believes it has found the required legal formula to sell Global Hawk UAVs despite the MTCR treaty. The decision was reportedly communicated during a July 23/08 meeting of the bilateral Security Policy Initiative. Chosun Ibo adds that:

”...already in April, after the Lee Myung-bak administration was inaugurated, the U.S. informally notified Seoul there was a possibility it might sell the aircraft to Korea.”

The Korean border, and North Korea itself, are not large. Reports indicate that South Korea may only be interested in 2-4 Global Hawk systems, but that could be enough to offer continuous coverage.

Additional Readings

• August 2008 Coverage: Chosun Ibo | KBS | StrategyPage

• Northrop Grumman – RQ-4 Block 20 Global Hawk. The current RQ-4B version.

• Global Security – RQ-4A Global Hawk (Tier II+ HAE UAV)

• ROK Drop (Aug 8/08) – South Korea, Elections, Mandates, and Habits… An American military blogger in South Korea offers some thoughts regarding Korean culture, the relationship with the USA, and recent events. Thought-provoking.

• Seoul Station. R.J. Koehler offers a consistent window into Korean politics, culture, and related international affairs, via links and excerpts from Korean news.