Surveillance of the Future

Letter to the Editor, Flight International

The future of intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) is taking shape in the Asia-Pacific region. Your report on the Australian government’s Project Air 7000 (Flight International, 7-13 March), notably the deployment of a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned air vehicle across the region, points the way to that future.

Co-operative, persistent ISR is one of the best ways to guarantee regional security. The exploitation of the potential of HALE UAVS and soon near space, will provide the means to bring the USA and its allies closer together. The opportunity to access high-quality, realtime ISR should be attractive to other regional actors, as well. The global Hawk has proven itself in the Middle East.

The vehicle is perfect for the enormous distances and complex environments of the Asia-Pacific region.