Amazing. And Not So Amazing.

First... this lil blurb from the AFA's Daily Report:

Global Observer Completes First Flight: AeroVironment's Global Observer high-altitude, hybrid-electric, remotely piloted aircraft has made its first flight. The aircraft took to the skies over Edwards AFB, Calif., climbing to 4,000 feet and maneuvering under the watchful eye of its remote operator before landing successfully after one hour aloft earlier this month. "This flight marks the beginning of an exciting new phase in the Global Observer technology demonstration program," said Tim Conver, AeroVironment's chairman and CEO, in a company release. The company is maturing Global Observer under a Pentagon-sponsored joint capability technology demonstration. The RPA is designed to loiter at altitudes between 55,000 feet and 65,000 feet and stay aloft for up to a week, performing roles such as relaying communications or monitoring weather. With the maiden flight in the books, the company is now prepping for a long-endurance operational utility assessment later this year. (For more, see UPI report.)

Didja get that?  All of that?  "Hybrid-electric?" Unmanned week long flights at 55 - 65 thousand feet?  Here's a quote from the linked UPI article:

"Two Global Observer aircraft, each flying for up to a week at a time, will alternate coverage over any area on the Earth, providing a seamless, persistent platform for high-value missions such as communications relay, remote sensing, long-term surveillance and disaster recovery," the company said.

Here's an illustration of the concept of operations (CONOPS):

I dunno about you, Gentle Reader, but I think this is just VERY frickin' cool... especially the technology behind the concept.  The CONOPS is amazing in itself.  Talk about persistent observation!  This brings new meaning to the ol' saw about "you can run but you sure can't hide!"

―:☺:―

This, OTOH, ain't so cool.

If you mouse over the sender's name in G-mail you'll see who sent ya the message.  Except that the feature is often wrong, especially when it comes to blog comments.  WHY does G-mail think everyone that comments at EIP is Kris?  This got me in trouble in comments recently, until I figgered it out.