Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Runway take-off and landing
- Mission-block-dependent intelligence sensor suite
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Northrop Grumman
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- RQ-4A; RQ-4B; sensor blocks differ
- Operators / programme customers
- US Air Force — historical programme source; current fleet not enumerated
Evidence & current status
The cited public record documents military use or operator acceptance. Specifications still depend on the particular production version and mission configuration.
Role & programme
A high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft family. Its different sensor blocks and the separate MQ-4C Triton maritime programme should not be collapsed into one specification.
The US Air Force fact sheet provides a historical RQ-4B performance baseline. Its old inventory and acquisition forecasts are not presented as the current fleet. A 2011 Air Force account distinguishes the smaller RQ-4A airframe from the larger B variant. The enduring significance of the family is high-altitude persistence and multiple intelligence payloads; configuration and retirement decisions vary by operator.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | High-altitude fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Runway take-off and landing | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Propulsion | Rolls-Royce F137-RR-100 turbofan | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Dimensions | 39.8 m span; 14.5 m length; 4.7 m height (RQ-4B) | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Mass | 14,628 kg maximum take-off mass | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Endurance | More than 34 h | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Range | 12,300 nmi published range | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Speed | 310 kt | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Altitude | 60,000 ft | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Payload | 1,360 kg | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Sensors | Mission-block-dependent intelligence sensor suite | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Remotely managed flight and intelligence downlinks | Historical US Air Force RQ-4B specification; not a current fleet inventory. Source |
Publication history
- — Expanded catalogue profile with sourced specifications, variant distinctions, programme evidence and explicit public data gaps.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- USAF RQ-4 fact sheet — historical baseline (opens in a new tab)Government / operator
- USAF RQ-4A/B distinction, 2011 (opens in a new tab)Government / operator