Today In History:  25 July  [2001]   --  A Global Hawk drone flies automatically from US to Australia non-stop

The Northrop Grumman unmanned aircraft Global Hawk flies automatically from Edwards Air Force Base in the US to Australia non-stop and unrefuelled. This is the longest point-to-point flight ever undertaken by an unmanned aircraft, the first pilotless aircraft to cross the Pacific Ocean, and took 23 hours and 23 minutes.

PHOTO: An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft like the one shown is currently flying non-military mapping missions over South, Central America and the Caribbean at the request of partner nations in the region. Ph oto: U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbi Zapka.

Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.