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The Ultimate UAV!!!

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
The annoying image macros will continue until the percentage questions stop

whatpercent.jpg
So, what % gets massive unlimited endurance UAV's?

Sorry, had to do it.
 

jollygreen07

Professional (?) Flight Instructor
pilot
Contributor
Wow.

I had no idea you guys got soo wrapped around the axle about this stuff.
 

HuggyU2

Well-Known Member
None
Climbing to 90,000' and staying there for 5 years is pretty impressive. But it takes payload to do anything. And 1000# of payload isn't much. As mentioned, it's only about 20%-25% of what a U-2 can carry.
Now that you have your 1000# payload up there, what's going to power these electrical sensors? In fact, with a whopping 5 kilowatts of power, I'm hoping they make some breakthroughs that will allow ISR sensors to run on less power than they currently are.
Someone mentioned Global Hawk: the new RQ-4B, which is falling behind in its development, has the same engine (same thrust, same electrical power output), as the RQ-4A, but will be heavier. And they want to add more sensors to it. However, they are pretty much using all the power the electrical system can put out.
These claims of height and ensdurance are great for record books. But the goal is to get an ISR sensor working on the aircraft.
I think this new UAV has a very long way to go.
 
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