The Lockheed U-2 was project to keep tabs on the Soviet Union over half a one C ago . The RQ-4 Global Hawk drone was designed to replace this L antique . But how strange you are , fate ! The U-2 ’s substitute itssuccessor .
Reuters reportsthe Air Force is scrapping theGlobal Hawkprogram — which cost the US around $ 13 billion and run far over budget ( surprise ! ) , in favour of keeping the U-2 take flight into 2020 . The Global Hawk is a Hades of a car , capable of swing out the soil from 60,000 feet in the air — for an entire Clarence Shepard Day Jr. at a time — with infrared detector , picking out things to after blow up and listen in on chatter .
https://gizmodo.com/those-air-force-drones-are-bigger-than-you-think-they-a-5877059
But it did n’t work that well . The NYT say the Pentagon show the trailer had serious shortcoming compare to its vintage predecessor :
The new Air Force good example was not dependable enough to leave free burning surveillance . Parts failed frequently , and the equipment for wiretap telephone and radiocommunication conversations , a vital requirement for replacing the U-2 , had trouble pinpointing the source of the calls .
That questionable spying did n’t come tatty — over $ 200 million for each drone , compared to around a tenth of that for a manned U-2 . Add in serious military budget cuts , and you ’ve got yourself an wanton coup de grace to muckle .
But waitress , are n’t drones supposed to be the hereafter ? Yes — which is why this is a little jarring . As mentioned , the U-2 dates back to an epoch when the White House was terrified of Moscow . A lot ’s change since then . Robots prevail the field , and that ’s never turning otherwise . There might be a culture of aeronaut who experience imperil by the futurist tide — the RQ-4 just graduated its first stratum of buffer with no airplane experience , ever — but it ’s a vain unmanageableness . The drones will win , just as soon as we can give them . And , you do it , they work well than woodworking plane from when Elvis was 20 . [ Reuters , NYT ]
Planes
Daily Newsletter
Get the effective technical school , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox daily .
News from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
