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Article: Spies in the sky.(Blimps are cheaper than drones)(gathering military intelligence)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 6, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Military technology: Blimps equipped with remote-sensing electronics are cheaper than drone aircraft, and have many other advantages
SPYING is a sophisticated and expensive business--and gathering military intelligence using unmanned aircraft can be prohibitively so. Predator and Global Hawk, two types of American drone frequently flown in Afghanistan and Iraq, cost around $5,000 and $26,500 an hour respectively to operate. The aircraft themselves cost between $4.5m and $35m each, and the remote-sensing equipment they carry can more than double the price. Which is why less elegant but far cheaper balloons are now being used instead.
Such blimps can keep ...