[The Duke]

It’s really hard for me to imagine the U2 being a better asset than the Global Hawk. (Maybe the U2 flies higher and has a larger field of view?)

[Gene Eric]

No doubt the consequence of the McConnell/Boehner super committee deal.

[Joe 6-pack]

It's amazing to think that here in 2012, our military is still using a plane designed by the same guy who designed the P-38 Lightning...

...Kelly Johnson was to aircraft what John Browning was to firearms.

[Eldon Tyrell]

All this demonstrates is how screwed up our current military procurement and program management/politics is.

On paper this is an easy win - and with 24 hour flight duration - automatic.

What a bunch of clowns.

[tdscpa]

In other news, obama is proposing a $10,000 Federal tax credit for the purchase of a Conestoga wagon.

[glorgau]

It’s the Air Force. Some how, some way they are going to come up with a decision that favors pilots.

[BwanaNdege]

Much of this argument is comparing apples to oranges.

The article talks of sensor capabilities, but the title implies the battle in between the delivery platforms.

Burt Rutan's Proteus:

"It is designed to carry payloads in the 2000-pound class to altitudes above 60,000 feet and remain on station up to 14 hours. Heavier payloads can be carried for shorter missions. It is intended for piloted as well as for UAV missions. Potential missions for Proteus include telecommunications, reconnaissance, atmospheric research, commercial imaging, and space launch."

Throw a few million at Scaled Composites and they will have you an upgraded version ready in 6 months and able to carry 4,000 lbs of payload.

[HELP! Anyone know the HTML to reduce the size of these photos?]

[sternup]

thanks for the post..from a USAF vet that used to chase pogos when the pilots wore partials

[ops33]

The C-130 is still in production, first flown in 1954.

[Rappini]

We need the SR-71 Blackbird back.

[xenian]

Global Hawk? Would you buy a car you can only drive a few days a week? Read the GH Operational Test & Evaluation report, which states “The RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 30 air vehicle fault detection and indication system ... is not effective for post-flight maintenance fault isolation. Air Force maintenance personnel are unable to evaluate the large number of presented fault codes to identify specific system failures.” The recommended redesign was “Resolve deficiencies in air vehicle and ASIP integrated diagnostic and health monitoring systems” Not implemented. Effective Time On Station was found to be 27% .