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"BAE Systems' ASTRAEA isn't a new concept -- the company's been playing up its unmanned potential for quite some time now -- but it's all seeming entirely less pie-in-the-sky now that the Farnborough Airshow has kicked off. Typically, UAVs are thought to be smaller, drone-type apparatuses; these things are typically used in military exercises where remote gunfire or reconnaissance is required. Clearly, it's about time someone asked the obvious: \"Why?\" Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, Engineering Director Systems and Strategy, Military Air and Information at BAE and ASTRAEA Program Director recently spoke at the aforesaid event, noting that this particular aircraft could \"open up a new market.\" He continued: \"Current search and rescue aircraft are limited by human endurance, however with a UAV there's no reason why they can't stay up for weeks.\" Sadly, he also affirmed that there aren't any plans to ship actual humans up in the air without a pilot onboard, but if you're rich and mettlesome enough to pull it off yourself... well, be sure to send us the video. Also, Godspeed."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/14/bae-systems-unmanned-astraea-aircraft/?ncid=rss_truncated>