Global Hawk

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle provides Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron here is the home unit for the Global Hawk mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Jenkins)

'Global' presence at Beale

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Airmen here check over a Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle recently. The aircraft is the first assigned to the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron and will be used to support worldwide contingencies. Cruising at more than 65,000 feet, the Global Hawk is used to provide Air Force and joint battlefield commanders near real-time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. (U.S. Air Force photo by John Schwab)

Sentry in flight

FILE PHOTO -- A Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., E-3 Sentry prepares for its in flight refueling. This is the latest model of the E-3 with its new 30/35 modifications and radar improvements. The Block 30/35 Modification Program is the largest single upgrade in the aircraft's history, including four enhancements: the Electronic Support Measure, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System upgrade, computer upgrades and the Global Positioning System modification. (Courtesy photo)

Dragon Lady refuels

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- Air Force members deployed from the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif., to the 363rd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, refuel a U-2 Dragon Lady after returning from a mission on April 13. The U-2 is a high altitude-multi intelligence reconnaissance aircraft. It can fly above 70,000 ft and provides near-real-time imagery and signals intelligence to war fighters and national authorities in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at a forward deployed location in Southwest Asia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Hannen)

J-STARS

FILE PHOTO -- The E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is the only airborne platform in operation that can maintain realtime surveillance over a corps-sized area of the battlefield. A joint Air Force - Army program, the Joint STARS uses a multi-mode side looking radar to detect, track, and classify moving ground vehicles in all conditions deep behind enemy lines. (U.S. Air Force photo)

AWACS

FILE PHOTO -- An E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., flies a mission. The E-3 Sentry is modified Boeing 707/320 commercial airframe with a rotating radar dome. The dome is 30 feet in diameter, 6 feet thick and is held 11 feet above the fuselage by two struts. It contains a radar subsystem that permits surveillance from the Earth's surface up into the stratosphere, over land or water. The radar has a range of more than 200 miles for low-flying targets and farther for aerospace vehicles flying at medium to high altitudes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John K. McDowell)