2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone
On June 20, 2019, Iran's integrated system of Air Defense Forces shot down a United States RQ-4A Global Hawk BAMS-D surveillance drone with a surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. differ on where the incident actually occurred. Iranian officials said that the drone violated their airspace, while U.S. officials responded that the drone was in international airspace.
Image: Northrop Grumman RQ 4 Global Hawk Shot down by Iran 4
Image: Northrop Grumman RQ 4 Global Hawk Shot down by Iran
An RQ-4 Global Hawk similar to that downed by Iran.
Alleged remnants of the RQ-4A drone. Image published by Tasnim News Agency
Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas.
Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk
The prototype MQ-4C on its first flight
A maintenance crew preparing a Global Hawk at Beale Air Force Base
EuroHawk at the ILA 2012
