Boeing, BAE Systems Show Off New Unmanned Planes 157
gilgsn writes The hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days, was unveiled by Boeing today. 'Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.' Across the pond, BAE Systems showed off Taranis, a UAV that will test the possibility of developing the first ever autonomous, stealth Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle that would ultimately be capable of precisely striking targets at long range — even in another continent."
Re:Cost? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:SAMs? (Score:2, Informative)
"The Boeing Company [NYSE: (BA)] today unveiled the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days."
Not alot of SAMs reach that high, it'll have a low radar cross section, small IR signature, so even the SAMs that go up there will have a hard time acquiring it.
So even if it's used in a place like Iran or I don't know, the Sudan or Venezuela in a future conflict, the good SAMs will have been taken out in the first few days of the war by F-16s, F-18G, F-22s, or cruise missiles, MANPADS can't get to 65,000, so this thing will be good for intelligence gathering even in an environment where the enemy has small SAMs still
Re:UAV ? ICBM (Score:3, Informative)
As noted in other articles, the project was previously named HALE (high altitude long endurance) and is a rapid prototype for a larger craft.
The new dorky name is probably a nod to "Phantom Works", Boeing's "Skunkworks", and hopefully not as much due to stealthy / nefarious connotations.
Re:Software (Score:3, Informative)
Of course UAVs can land autonomously. Heck, the autopilot and control system I built in college for a few grand can land a 200lb helicopter fully autonomously, no pilot in the loop. Military UAVs can land autonomously as well (AAI Shadow), though some don't have to (the AeroVironment Raven just falls and you go pick it up).