War Machines of Staggering Costs: Unveiling the Priciest Military Vehicles Ever Built

15. Global Hawk RQ-4

Joined the Service in 1998 Producing company: Northrop Grumman Price: *$222.7 million The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely piloted surveillance aircraft that was designated Tier II+ during development. Ryan Aeronautical, a division of Northrop Grumman, was originally responsible for its design. The responsibilities performed by the Global Hawk are comparable to those of the U-2 Dragon Lady. The Northrop Grumman Corp. aircraft uses high-resolution synthetic aperture radar to conduct systematic surveillance.

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RQ-4 Global Hawk / Twitter.com / @starsandstripes Further utilizing long-range EO/IR sensors is the Global Hawk. In a single day, this aircraft can scan 40,000 square miles of terrain, or an area around the size of South Korea or Iceland. The program cost $10 billion in total. Research & development costs range from $131.4 million to $222.7 million per unit. The RQ-4's infrared and visible light imagers are another remarkable feature. A gimballed sensor package is shared by them. They are able to telescopic because they share the same optics. The AN/ALR-89 self-protection suite, which includes a jamming system, radar warning receiver, and laser warning receiver, is also equipped aboard the Global Hawk.