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Old 21st Sep 2008, 23:06
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In Tor Wot
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Shefford, Beds, UK
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PR 9 replacement?

WEBF in response to your question about RAPTOR replacing the Canberra capability the answer is no it won't. Primarily due to the differences in the sensors they both employ.
the Canberra had SYERS (see here) summarised as:

"Senior Year Electro-Optical Relay System (SYERS) carried by the U-2S. Recently de-classified images shown in the press hint at the capabilities, with images of the Houses of Parliament taken from 47,000ft over the Isle of Wight, the time on Big-Ben can be clearly seen."

The Raptor is a DB110 and described as:

"DB-110 delivers high definition imagery in the visible and infrared bands at extremely long ranges. Its broad area, spot and stereo coverage is unmatched by any system in its class."

(my italics)

The chance to use SYERS was lost when the option to fit them to a couple of extra ASTOR airframes was turned down some years ago.

In short there is nothing to replace the capabilities that the PR9 had, either in terms of stand-off/resolution or wide area/high quality.

Something frequently ignored, however, is the ability to analyse the data and get the information to where it's needed in the time scale required and with the imagery analysis trade currently at an FMDL in the mid 60% it is unlikely to improve in the near future.
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