Los Angeles, CA – An unmanned spy plane that could stay in the air for days and survey an area larger than Afghanistan at one glance has been tested in the Southern California desert.
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The Los Angeles Times says the Global Observer was secretly flown last week. The $30-million aircraft has a wingspan almost as long as a Boeing 747’s.
AeroVironment Inc., of Monrovia, which built the plane, says the plane circled Edwards Air Force base at about 5,000 feet in a four-hour test using hydrogen fuel. There were earlier battery-powered tests.
Two other robotic planes will be tested at Edwards in the coming weeks. The planes don’t have production contracts and are years away from service.
But if bought by the Pentagon, they could spur Southern California’s aerospace industry.
This is not a very big chiddush.
The US Defense Department program has had a program for a while now doing research into an unmanned aircraft that can stay aloft for more than five years.
It’s called Vulture.