Message posted by RoadKill on January 11, 2011 at 22:06:38 PST:

I'm not certain you weren't being sarcastic, I can usually tell...but, i'm not sure on this one.

So, just as the Air Force has different types of aircraft for different roles, each of those general types get different airframes for their "specialized" missions.

Take, for example, Bombers. We currently have three basic types in the inventory: B-52, B-1, and B-2. The B-52 is, of course, the oldest bomber in our inventory and it can perform a variety of jobs; low-level drops, high-altitude precision bombs, and every altitude inbetween. Plus it carries many differnt munitions, including classic "bombs" in different amounts of explosive material, laser guided bombs, electrically/optically guided bombs, inertial navigation guided bombs, bombs with no guidance systems, and bombs with GPS.
You can breakdown the rockets, missiles, and nuclear weapons in much the same way. Some of the Buffs can also carry ECM pods and the like.

The B-1 is a supersonic, low-level pentrator. But it has been adapted to carry out many of the same tasks the B-52 can carrout. Newer electronics (still obsolete by today's standards).

Finally, the b-2 = an awesome airframe designed to do one thing - deliver ordnance in stealth and return home. It, too, has been adapted to a "conventional" role where it goes in and deliveres some sort of guided munition. The threat level is lower than it would have been for an infil into the former USSR, but it still functions as designed, able to get into places the other two bombers cannot.

So, compare the stealth UAV platforms the same way. The AeroVironment Global Observer is a great loiter airframe. As a communications relay platform, it could help ensure that troops in a typically "dead" area for radio/phone coverage, can talk to whomever. The relay bird loiters out of harms way, with the only condition that it keep a line-of-sight to the troops at both ends. The comm relay is proven technology. The loiter is new. And, this airframe has some stealth design. Remember that not all stealh is just radar evading. Some is visual, some acoustic, and some thermal/infrared. So, if this guy loiters at 20K ft up and it cannot be detected from the groud, it's stealth has been achieved.

You don't want to use your best penetrator to handle the "routine" task like loiter for comm repetition. So, you develop a penetrator that does that job very well.

And, always having to do more with less, you build some airframes that can perform multiple tasks...perhaps there's a few tasks it doesn't perfrom as well as a vehicle that was built for a singular purpose might...but that's the nature of the business.

YOu don't always get to drive the Ferrari. Sometimes, you have to drive the Dodge Caravan. And if you're just "driving around" you could do that in either car. So, they're designed for completely different purposes, yet some purposes overlap (the Sunday drive, for instance.)

Clear? If not, GreatGuess can problably do a better job of this.

As for the "domestic use" statement, the FAA has very strict rules on where UAV's can fly in the US. That's one reason the Boeing UAV flew piggy-back on the NASA 747 from St Louis to Edwards/Palmdale. They couldn't fly it directly from St Louis because of FAA rules.

UAV's are flown along the international border, and in the deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, perhaps more places. But, in general, UAVs are prohibited in the USA.

I think the FAA is erroring on the side of caution and wanting rock-solid procedures/controls for runaways and in-flight anomolies before they allow them to fly in "normal" airspace. Something like the destruct packages we use on our missile shots. Not that the FBI wouldn't like to have some...

In Reply to: Re: New generation of unmanned spy planes being tested posted by psiuh88 on January 11, 2011 at 18:31:22 PST:

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