Message posted by Magoo on April 12, 2001 at 7:58:52 PST:

Ok...now that the EP-3 crew has been safely returned and all is (almost) well again with the world, here's something to think about.

I'll bet that the Global Hawk will get an added injection of funding and perhaps an accelerated development schedule in the wake of the EP-3/China thing.

The EP-3 would have flown a pre-arranged course, and had its sensors pre-programmed to turn on and off at specific way points, or in response to Chinese actions. A Global Hawk could (theoretically) do just the same, but at a much higher altitude (60K against 35K) and for a longer period (26+ hours against 12+ hours). (Only the Su-27s and Su-30s that China has can reach 60K!)

Although there is a human interface involved on the EP-3, there is probably no reason why much of this work can't be done automatically, or if urgent, even uploaded and sent via satellite in real time back to base (or even straight to Fort Mead if necessary!). It can even be recorded and downloaded when the Global Hawk RTBs.

In the meantime, I doubt the EP-3 flights will stop, and perhaps will even be increased in the short term to determine whether any advantage has been gained by the Chinese possesion of the aircraft. They may, however, fly a little further off the coast for a while to gauge responses. Watch for a carrier to be deployed to the region, or perhaps even Okinawa based F-15s and tankers accompanying the EP-3s and RC-135s on their missions in their area too. Either way, things are likely to be tense in the next few months.

Comments anyone?

Magoo

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