Since there was an email through here about the EP-3 goings on up in the
South China Sea, I thought I'd mention something else which made the local
papers and I believe of relevance - URL:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/04/21/FFXE95KTQLC.html
Spy plane to cross Pacific by remote control
By MARK FORBES
DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT
CANBERRA
Saturday 21 April 2001
The flying machines of the future may take wing without their magnificent men. Tomorrow's
historic trans-Pacific flight of the unmanned Global Hawk is seen as the next step for military
aviation.
Announcing the flight, air force chief Air Marshall Errol McCormack said unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) could help replace Australia's fleets of F/A-18 and F-111 jets. More
immediately, UAVs are likely to replace conventional spy planes - avoiding the risks to crews
demonstrated by China's seizure of a United States plane this month.
The RAAF is likening Global Hawk's flight to Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's first crossing of
the Pacific. Leaving California's Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday, it should take 24 hours
to reach South Australia's Edinburgh RAAF base, controlled by teams of US and Australian
pilots from Edinburgh.
During the trip, and on arrival, the $15 million Global Hawk will be tested for surveillance use
in Australian conditions. It will undertake a series of test flights then take part in a major
military exercise off Australia's north-east coast.
A spokesman for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, which has worked with
the US to adapt the plane for Australian conditions, particularly maritime surveillance, said it
"shows the way of the future for surveillance and reconnaissance in our region".
Air Marshall McCormack said that in a 24-hour period the Global Hawk could conduct
effective surveillance of an area twice the size of Tasmania. It could assist with coastal
surveillance and customs along with its military applications. "The air force is currently
reviewing, as part of Project Air 6000, the replacements for F/A-18 and F-111 fleets and it is
highly possible that our future capability could well include UAVs such as Global Hawk," he
said. Air Marshal McCormack said he did not see UAVs taking over the entire load of the air
force "at this stage", because of the bandwidth required to remotely control the craft. Several
teams of pilots will control the Global Hawk during its non-stop flight, using radio signals
bounced off communications satellites. With a wingspan similar to a Boeing 737's, it will cruise
above 50,000 feet at a speed of more than 600 kmh, powered by a Rolls Royce turbo-fan
engine.
Using an array of electronic sensors, it can scan 31,000 square kilometres of sea or land in
two minutes.
Air Marshall McCormack said that towards the end of a decade would be a "good time" to
introduce UAVs into the RAAF. The US is planning two operational UAVs commissioned in
its air force after 2005.
Global Hawk had its first successful flight in February, 1998. Five pilotless aircraft have since
made more than 70 flights including one across the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Portugal
and returning. The trans-Pacific flight to Australia would be Global Hawk's longest and most
challenging.
Yesterday the air force chief also launched a special commemorative postage stamp to mark
the inaugural trans-Pacific flight by Global Hawk.
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Received on Mon Apr 23 03:04 CDT 2001