Continuously Available Battlefield Surveillance

The question of what is necessary for the US to provide its fighting forces with continuously available surveillance of the battlefield is considered. The anticipated technological improvements forecasted to 2025 all support the conclusion that sufficient capabilities will exist should the US government choose to collect them into a single system. The resulting unmanned system will likely be a lighter-than-air vessel capable of operating for months or a stealthy derivative of the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The single largest hurdle for either system is the lack of political and military support for expanding existing unmanned systems. An Air Force sponsored survey conducted with several military, corporate and university experts which supports these conclusions is also presented.