Re: RE: Another American Spyplane about to land in a foreign country

[jericson@xxxxxxxxxx]

It's off the mark. This has been in the planning for quite some time.
(I work with a bunch of the people going over.)

> This may be off the mark, but doesn't it sound a little odd that a
few weeks
> after the Chinese play hackysack with an ELINT bird in the South
China Sea,
> a pilotless ELINT plane appears in the South Pacific?  I know the
Global
> Hawk doesn't have nearly the capability of the plane that went down,
but
> possibly this is more of a message thing- "You can't hold our people
because
> there won't be any."
>
> Just a thought.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: becubed@connexus.net.au [mailto:becubed@connexus.net.au]
> Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2001 3:59 PM
> To: millenniums-end-l@firedrake.org
> Subject: Another American Spyplane about to land in a foreign
country
>
>
> >From a news service. Could be a BE job if it was to disappear on
the way.
>
> Scott
>
> Unmanned plane takes off for Pacific crossing
>
> A robotic plane took off before dawn Sunday in an attempt to fly
from
> California
> to Australia to become the first drone to cross the Pacific Ocean.
>
> The US Air Force's Global Hawk took to the air at 4:48am (2148
AEST), said
> spokesman
> John Haire. It was expected to land 22 and a half hours and 13,840km
later
> at
> a Royal Australian Air Force Base outside Adelaide, he said.
>
> The spy plane was to fly at 19,500 metres, well above other air
traffic and
> the nasty weather that plagues the Pacific. Ground crews in
Australia will
> monitor
> the flight but not control it as the plane follows a preprogrammed
route.
>
> The awkward-looking plane resembles a killer whale, thanks to a
bulbous nose
> that hides an antenna 1.2 metres in diameter.
>
> On takeoff, the Global Hawk's mammoth wings - longer than a Boeing
737's -
> droop
> under 6,750 kilograms of fuel that accounts for 60 per cent of the
> aircraft's
> weight. The plane's distinctive V-shaped tail frames the Rolls-Royce
engine
> that straddles its fuselage.
>
> The plane will take part in combined military exercises in Australia
over
> the
> next six weeks.
>
> Australia is interested in using the Global Hawk to patrol its
northern
> coast.
> Backers of the reconnaissance plane say it is perfect for the task,
since it
> can fly at high altitudes for extended periods of time, all while
using its
> high-powered cameras to image the ground and ocean below.
>
> Northrop Grumman Corp's Ryan Aero Centre designed the plane to fly
as far as
> 2,250km from its base, crisscross a target for 24 hours to acquire
radar,
> infrared
> and black-and-white images, and then return home.
>
> The Air Force has named the plane the "Southern Cross II" to honour
the
> first
> aircraft to fly from the United States to Australia. The original
Southern
> Cross,
> a three-engine Fokker that departed from Oakland, California, and
its crew
> made
> the trip in several legs in 1928.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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