Thats part of my problem with it. What capabilities does it bring that cannot be covered by a global hawk variant? (or even better, a real armed variant) If you have a team on the ground that may need cover, (enough that you are going to station a boat there), you could much more easily and cheaply orbit a global hawk in the vicinity. Or even better, assign a couple to cover an entire AOR, then they are always on station without tipping anyone off.
Helos have very useful capabilities in support of guys on the ground, an unmanned FLIR slung under a rotorhead does not use any of these.
Helos have very useful capabilities in support of guys on the ground, an unmanned FLIR slung under a rotorhead does not use any of these.