Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk – Cost: $176 Million

The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is one impressive aircraft. For starters, the drone can fly as high as 60,000 feet, which is almost twice as much as a commercial plane is capable of reaching. The stealth flyer began as a concept demonstration in 1995 and has been used for contingency operations since the early 2000s.

Although it’s relatively young compared to the military vehicles developed in the ‘70s, the Air Force has been campaigning to retire its oldest RQ-4 Global Hawks since 2012. Proponents of this move argue that the drones would not survive the conflicts of the future.