Loren Thompson argues that the real threat to U.S. spy satellites is not from enemy anti-satellite weapons or jamming devices but from irrelevance due to the increasing reconnaissance capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the debate over the top-secret stealth spy satellite program, opponents are calling into question the utility of spy satellites by pointing to the growing capabilities of UAVs as surveillance platforms.
Advances in satellite-guided global positioning systems, wireless communications, networking, and increasing bandwidth have fueled the development of Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as remote-operated planes or helicopters to perform tasks considered dull, dirty or dangerous.
The US Air Force is examining the merits of a semi-autonomous, lighter-than-air unmanned aircraft that would operate in the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere for extended periods. There it would serve as a communications-relay and surveillance platform for tactical applications, said service officials.