Armed Reconaissance Helicopter (from Presidential Helo)

Both good points. The UCAR discussions were getting into
crashworthiness to protect the sensor packages.

Obviously, the value of the UAV is reducing the risk to pilots.
However, they seem easier to shoot down than maneed aircraft, and that
begs the question what do you do for recon/intel if you lose several?

At some point, the asset becomes too precious to risk. The last quote
I heard on Global Hawk was $70 million per copy. You'll have very few
in theater, and if one or two get shot down, it denies you imagery.

There has to be a balance here.

HW