Fixed-wing unmanned aircraft are Air Force's best near-space

Posted on: Feb. 15th, 2006 || Source: aimpoints.hq.af.mil | E-mail Article | Print Article

More so than balloons and airships, high-flying unmanned aircraft are the best near-term option for the Air Force to exploit the untapped region of "near space" for persistent overhead observation, information gathering and communications relay, according to a just-published study by the Air Force's senior group of technical advisers.

Long-endurance, fixed-winged unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) like Northrop Grumman [NOC]'s RQ-4 Global Hawk could provide viable alternatives to low-earth-orbit satellites for such missions by the end of the decade, when operating in around-the-clock rotations, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (AFSAB) reported in its study "Persistence at 'Near Space' Altitudes."

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