New Generation Of Drones Are Being Tested

The X-47B, (Unmanned Combat Air System). Courtesy of Giles Thomas via Wikimedia Commons.

New Generation Of Unmanned Spy Planes Is Being Tested -- L.A. Times

Three drones being flown in the coming weeks are speedier, stealthier and higher-flying.

An experimental spy plane with a wingspan almost the size of a Boeing 747's took to the skies over the Mojave Desert last week in a secret test flight that may herald a new era in modern warfare with robotic planes flying higher, faster and with more firepower.

The massive Global Observer built by AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia is capable of flying for days at a stratosphere-skimming 65,000 feet, out of range of most antiaircraft missiles. The plane is built to survey 280,000 square miles — an area larger than Afghanistan — at a single glance. That would give the Pentagon an "unblinking eye" over the war zone and offer a cheaper and more effective alternative to spy satellites watching from outer space.

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More News On The Development And Testing Of New UAVs

Report: New spy plane tested in Calif. desert -- Yahoo News/AP
U.S. testing higher, stronger drone craft -- UPI
Report: New spy plane tested in Calif. desert -- Washington Post/AP
US Testing Next Generation of Spy Drones -- Newser
AeroVironment UAV completes hydrogen-powered flight -- The Engineer
Global Observer, AeroVironment’s Extreme Endurance Unmanned Aircraft System, Achieves Historic First Hydrogen-Powered Flight -- Businesswire
AeroVironment details possible future for Global Observer -- Flight Global