Posted on 12/17/2004 11:55:01 PM PST by WestVirginiaRebel
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)-North Korea on Saturday said the U.S. military increased espionage flights over its territory and deployed weaponry in South Korea this year, allegedly to prepare for a nuclear war against the communist state.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.tbo.com ...
All I have to say is it seems like an awful waste of fuel. The next damn plane better be carrying a payload. (preferably nuclear)
that's what? almost 6 per day...
1..........2..........3..........
Awwwwwwwwwww!
They don't fly over North Korea. The U-2S, RC-7s, RC-12s, RC-135s etc stay in South Korean airspace. The North Koreans have the missile capability to down a U-2 the same way as the Chinese and the Russians have done in the past. The recce flights stay in international airspace - far too vulnerable to go risking crews in this manner when the job can be done from stand-off sensors onboard.
The US almost certainly uses UAVs in particularly hot areas-that won't cause risks to anyone.
2100 divided by 365 equals 5.75342465753 flights per day.
The US would not waste the fuel to look at a nothing country. North Korea is playing with itself.
That's interesting stuff. I'm not really up on the latest tech.
If you are thinking of the likes of RQ-4 over North Korea then that is wrong also. The RQ-4 is still as vulnerable as the use of a U-2S over hostile territory. The North Koreans would have been launching SAMs by the dozen at any intruder deep in its airspace. Even downing UAVs would be valuable propagada for the North Koreans and something the US seeks to avoid. The recce flight are all periphery
The North Koreans are simply blowing hot air over the number of race-track patterns they observe along the mainland border and sea borders. The last over recce flights of North Korean airspace was when the SR-71 was in service.
I don't think that the US minds losing a few Predators.Those are designed to be expendible.It's the same everywhere-for eg India,Israel,Pakistan have all lost drones in enemy territories,but it's rarely been humiliating for them.
It's pretty unbelievable that the last overflights were using Blackbirds.The US needs very high resolution of places like Yongbyon & missile launch facilities-something that can't always been done using satellites.
Expendable yes, but it would be a major propaganda coup for the North Koreans to exhibit the wreckage. In this time of heightened tensions this would simply be giving the N.Koreans an easy target to down. Exactly what they want to show the world that they are simply defending themselves from the US.
The North Koreans have been blowing hot air about the periphery recce flights for some time now. They showed their frustration by mounting an intercept of an RC-135 last year by their MiG-29s and MiG-23s. The RC-135 crew felt threatened and exited the area.
There is simply no need antagonise the North Koreans further by conducting direct overflights. Furthermore UAVs, U-2s, RQ-4s are vulnerable over such heavily defended airspace. The US are not going to risk recce configured F-14, F/A-18s in this manner either. North Korea is left to airbreather stand-off sensors and satellites.
If commercial sats can come up with nice images of Iranian installations then imagine the resolution of US mil sats.
Maybe the Aurora?
No, they’d never know it was there.
But a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with SAR is more ideal to shoot pictures of smaller(unrecognisable) facilities.Moreover you can tweak such a platform with sensors to detect biological or chemical agents.
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