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Pentagon greatly increases drone plane numbers
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of BusinessWeek/Bloomberg News
Posted: February 15th, 2010
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-05/pentagon-to-incr...
The U.S. military plans to more than triple its inventory of high-altitude, armed and unarmed drones capable of 24-hour patrols. The long-range aviation plan delivered to Congress Feb. 2 calls for 800 high-altitude drones, up from 220 currently. We cant get enough drones, General David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, which includes the Afghanistan and Iraq war theaters, said in a speech Jan. 19. Of the militarys 6,819 unmanned aircraft, only the high- altitude long-endurance drones can provide ground commanders wide-ranging, round-the-clock surveillance and the opportunity for instant strike. The new planes will include Global Hawks built by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Predator and Reaper drones. The Air Force uses those three model drones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Northrop also will build its new broad-area surveillance aircraft for the Navy. The U.S. military currently flies about 39 combat-air patrols for 24 hours each over Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula. The Pentagon has said it would increase the patrols to 50 a day in the next two years and 65 by 2013.
Note: For key reports from media sources on new weapons development by the Pentagon, click here and here.
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