Condor
Boeings' Condor, a remotely piloted twin engine aircraft, had a wider wingspan (200 feet) than a Boeing 747 and could operate above 65,000 feet for several davs. Condor
reached a maximum altitude of 67,028 feet in a 1988 flight. This altitude record for propeller-driven aircraft set by the Condor was unsurpassed until June 1997, when NASA's Pathfinder UAV reached a record altitude of 67,350. Condor cost about $20 million without payload. But with its high altitude and long endurance, it had global reach, capable of conducting missions ranging from military surveillance to drug enforcement. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) supported the flight-testing of the Condor in a military configuration. Potential users looked at the Condor as a cheap satellite with a long dwell time. At $20 million (without payload), Condor would be a cheap supplement to the amount of money now being spent on state-of-the-art satellite systems.
Sources and Methods
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/condor.htm
Created by John Pike
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated Saturday, November 27, 1999 11:51:41 AM
