Why the US navy might exchange spy satellites with photo voltaic planes

The US navy has spent billions of {dollars} on spy satellites and supersonic surveillance plane, however now it appears to be specializing in sluggish, light-weight solar-powered planes to do the identical job

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3 November 2022

The Zephyr solar plane made by Airbus

The Zephyr made by Airbus is simply one of many solar-powered planes on the market

Airbus

The skies could quickly be stuffed with unpiloted solar-powered planes, employed by the navy to surreptitiously watch what is occurring far under. However in an period wherein non-public corporations like SpaceX can launch greater than 3000 satellites into orbit, with hundreds extra deliberate, why would nations or navy institutions depend on plane for this?

A clue comes from the US Central Command’s admission that there are gaps in its means to maintain watch on distant nations …

Supply By https://www.newscientist.com/article/2344483-why-the-us-military-could-replace-spy-satellites-with-solar-planes/