All HALE the second generation

摘要

Operating at altitudes of around 50.000ft (15,240m), capable of at least 24 hours of airborne operations, so-called HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can provide commanders with persistent surveillance across a wide swathe of terrain or ocean. They have their ancestry in the erstwhile Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady, SR-71A Blackbird, and English Electric Canberra PR9 reconnaissance aircraft that have been used to provide high altitude Imagery Intelligence (IMINT). However, manned aircraft are limited by the endurance of their crews, whereas the HALE UAV does not get tired staring at the same patch of earth for hours on end. In essence, the HALE UAV bridges the capability gap between the space-based IMINT satellite and the strategic reconnaissance aircraft.