4 ms·

"... Where would they fly to from Adelaide? ..." with an 'official range' of 16,100 kilometres the following spring to mind: - Afghanistan, 10,700Km ~ http://

"... Where would they fly to from Adelaide? ..." with an 'official range' of 16,100 kilometres the following spring to mind: - Afghanistan, 10,700Km ~ http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+from+Afghanistan+to+adelaide http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+from+Afghanist... - North Korea, 8,400 km ~ http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+from+North+Korea+to+adelaide http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=distance+from+North+Kor...

discodave 14y ago
Yes, but why fly from Adelaide rather than Guam or Diego Garcia or the UAE which are all closer.
- anovikov 14y ago
  That's range not radius. Flying to Afghanistan thus requires 23000 km of range, plus fuel for time on station. Fortunately, it was in 2001-2006 when the main modification was RQ-4A which has a range of 25000 km, so even a mission to Afghanistan was possible, just with only 4-5 hours on station.
- dsl 14y ago
  China does not have great costal radar, so they station a ton of ships in the Philippine Sea to intercept Guam and the East China Sea to cover Misawa and Kunsan. The South China Sea is less guarded, so you can fly out of Paya Lebar in Singapore, or any number of locations in Australia (we are quite friendly). Adelaide also provides air services to JDF Pine Gap, which is the Australian hub UKUSA intelligence operations.
- bootload 14y ago
  "... why fly from Adelaide rather than Guam or Diego Garcia or the UAE ..." from the article, "Were the US Global Hawks targeting countries in our region?" and "I believe RAAF Edinburgh was chosen because it is close to but outside a major city, had hangars that could conceal the Global Hawk and back then, it was a quiet base," Now that's a good question. The fact is the article also hinted a potential Australian interest plus the Five Eyes link.
ars 14y ago
How do you plan to get back from Afghanistan? Or North Korea? And for closer places, it's sort of pointless to fly there if you have to leave immediately or run out of fuel.
- bootload 14y ago
  "... it's sort of pointless to fly there if you have to leave immediately or run out of fuel ..." What about mid-air refuels with a KC135 or a drone tanker? cf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YDFmf049E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YDFmf049E
  - ars 14y ago
    Cool in theory, but wouldn't it be simpler to just launch from someplace closer?
    - benologist 14y ago
      Especially at $200m/plane, seems like unnecessary complexity.

discodave 14y ago

Yes, but why fly from Adelaide rather than Guam or Diego Garcia or the UAE which are all closer.

anovikov 14y ago
That's range not radius. Flying to Afghanistan thus requires 23000 km of range, plus fuel for time on station. Fortunately, it was in 2001-2006 when the main modification was RQ-4A which has a range of 25000 km, so even a mission to Afghanistan was possible, just with only 4-5 hours on station.
dsl 14y ago
China does not have great costal radar, so they station a ton of ships in the Philippine Sea to intercept Guam and the East China Sea to cover Misawa and Kunsan. The South China Sea is less guarded, so you can fly out of Paya Lebar in Singapore, or any number of locations in Australia (we are quite friendly). Adelaide also provides air services to JDF Pine Gap, which is the Australian hub UKUSA intelligence operations.
bootload 14y ago
"... why fly from Adelaide rather than Guam or Diego Garcia or the UAE ..." from the article, "Were the US Global Hawks targeting countries in our region?" and "I believe RAAF Edinburgh was chosen because it is close to but outside a major city, had hangars that could conceal the Global Hawk and back then, it was a quiet base," Now that's a good question. The fact is the article also hinted a potential Australian interest plus the Five Eyes link.

ars 14y ago

How do you plan to get back from Afghanistan? Or North Korea? And for closer places, it's sort of pointless to fly there if you have to leave immediately or run out of fuel.

bootload 14y ago
"... it's sort of pointless to fly there if you have to leave immediately or run out of fuel ..." What about mid-air refuels with a KC135 or a drone tanker? cf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YDFmf049E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4YDFmf049E
- ars 14y ago
  Cool in theory, but wouldn't it be simpler to just launch from someplace closer?
  - benologist 14y ago
    Especially at $200m/plane, seems like unnecessary complexity.