LetLetLet ~ Warplanes
Let Let Let - Warplanes => Combat Warplanes => Topic started by: No.1 on February 24, 2011, 04:00:51 PM
-
To better coordinate intelligence-gathering and speed its flow to ground troops, the U.S. Air Force plans a huge, 350 ft long blimp loaded with up to a dozen different sensors and a supercomputer. Cruising at 20,000 ft for as long as a week, the airship will carry the wide-area airborne surveillance system (WAAS) — an array of a dozen or more cameras to cover every inch of the ground within a 2 1/2 mile radius. The supercomputer will process 300 terabytes per hour to crunch the mountains of acquired data and dramatically reduce the required capacity of air-to-ground data links.
(http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2011/01/bluedevil2-660x491.jpg)
More about http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/01/all-seeing-blimp/
-
Seems new idea of old concept!
One small problem: how do you defend this huge monster against enemy aircraft and missiles?
At 6000 m it even seems a sitting duck for enemy groundfire.
-
Yes, I wonder that too. It could be just like the airplane versus observation balloon situation in the First World War, except the "sausage" is unmanned now.
-
Enemy drones against unmanned dirigible?? WW III update on WW I!
-
I guess it is options against enemy without aviation, like in Afghanistan
-
Throwing the money away, if you ask me... :-think
Germans did the same thing in 1939, reemploying Zeppelin in order to find out what those big steel towers at the English seashore are, but didn't find anything useful ;)