We all surely know that the US and its allies would not conspire to attack America! Or do we?
The Army's School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS ) thinks Israel is capable of doing exactly that. On September 10, 2001, The Washington Times ran a front page story which quoted SAMS officers: "Of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, the SAMS officers say: 'Wildcard. Ruthless and cunning. Has capability to target US forces and make it look like a Palestinian/Arab act.'" ("US troops would enforce peace under Army study," Washington Times, Sept.. 10, 2001, pg. A1, 9.) Just 24 hours after this story appeared, the Pentagon was hit and the Arabs were being blamed. These SAMS officers are obviously interested in protecting their country, but not all Americans are. Some are traitors pay allegiance to Israel. Recall the June 8, 1967, Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, and American complicity in the attack. During the Six Day War, the Liberty, an American intelligence gathering ship, was sailing in international waters. Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attacked it for 75 minutes.
When four US fighter jets from a nearby aircraft carrier came to protect the Liberty, US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara ordered the jets NOT to come to the Liberty's aid, and allowed the Israeli attack to continue. Thirty-four Americans were killed and 171 wounded.
Now consider Operation Northwoods: In 1962, US military leaders designed a plan to conduct terrorist acts against Americans and blame Cuba, to create popular sentiment for invasion of that country. Operation Northwoods included: * Plans to shoot down a CIA plane designed to replicate a passenger flight and announce that Cuban forces shot it down. * Creation of military casualties by blowing up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blaming Cuba: "....casualty lists in the US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation," and * Development of a terror campaign in the Miami and Washington, DC. Information on Operation Northwoods can be found in James Bamford's "Body of Secrets," (Doubleday, 200?).
In other words, US allies and people within the US military establishment are not opposed to killing American servicemen and civilians, given the right goal.
Why Take Chances?
Put yourself in the shoes of the masterminds of Operation 911. The attacks had to be tightly coordinated. Four jets took off within 15 minutes of each other at Boston, Dulles, and Newark airports, and roughly two hours later, it was over. The masterminds couldn't afford to take needless chances. Years ago I saw a local TV news reporter interview a New York mugger about the occupational hazards of his trade. "It's a very, very dangerous trade," the mugger informed the interviewer. "Some of these people are crazy! They fight back! You can get hurt!" If a freelance New York mugger realized the unpredictable nature of human behavior, surely the pros who pulled this job off must have known the same truth. Yet we are asked to believe that the culprits took four jet airliners, with four sets of crew and four sets of passengers -- armed with (depending on the news reports you read) "knives," "plastic knives" and box cutters. Given the crazy and unpredictable nature of humans, why would they try this bold plan when they were so poorly armed?
A lady's handbag -- given the weight of the contents most women insist on packing -- is an awesome weapon. Are we to believe that none of the women had the testosterone to knock those flimsy little weapons out of the hijackers' hands? And what of the briefcases most men carry? Thrown, those briefcase can be potent weapons. Your ordinary every-day New York mugger would never take the chances that our culprits took. Flight attendant Michelle Heidenberger was on board Flight 77. She had been "trained to handle a hijacking. She knew not to let anyone in the cockpit. She knew to tell the hijacker that she didn't have a key and would have to call the pilots. None of her training mattered." (Washington Post, "On flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked." September 12, 2001, pgs. A 1, 11.) That's right, The Washington Post for once is telling the whole truth. Heidenberger's training didn't matter, the pilots' training didn't matter, the ladies handbags didn't matter, the mens' briefcases didn't matter. The masterminds of Operation 911 knew that whatever happened aboard those flights, the control of the planes was in their hands. Even if the crew and passengers fought back, a hypothesis is that they *could not* have regained control of the planes, for the planes were being controlled by Global Hawk technology.
Flight 77: "The Plane Was Flown With Extraordinary Skill"
Once again: Operation 911 demanded that the attacks be tightly coordinated. Four jets took off within 15 minutes of each other at Boston, Dulles, and Newark airports, and roughly two hours later, it was over. If we are to believe the story we are being told, the masterminds needed, at an absolute minimum, pilots who could actually fly the planes and who could arrive at the right place at the right time. American Airlines Flight 77, Boeing 757, took off from Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia at 8:10 a.m. and crashed into the Pentagon at 9:40 a.m. The Washington Post's September 12 says this: "Aviation sources said that the plane was flown with extraordinary skill, making it highly likely that a trained pilot was at the helm, possibly one of the hijackers. Someone even knew how to turn off the transponder, a move that is considerably less than obvious." According to the article, the air traffic controllers "had time to warn the White House that the jet was aimed directly at the president's mansion and was traveling at a gut-wrenching speed--full throttle. "But just as the plane seemed to be on a suicide mission into the White House, the unidentified pilot executed a pivot so tight that it reminded observers of a fighter jet maneuver. The plane circled 270 degrees from the right to approach the Pentagon from the west, whereupon Flight 77 fell below radar level, vanishing from controller's screens, the sources said," (pg. 11). (Washington Post, September 12, 2001, "On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked., pgs. 1 & 11. )
Meet Ace Suicide Pilot Hani Hanjour
Let's look at what we know about the alleged suicide pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, Hani Hanjour. According to press reports, Hanjour had used Bowie's Maryland Freeway Airport three times since mid-August as he attempted to get permission to use one of the airport's planes. This from The Prince George's [Maryland] Journal September 18, 2001: "Marcel Bernard, the chief flight instructor at the airport, said the man named Hani Hanjour went into the air in a Cessna 172 with instructors from the airport three times beginning the second week of August and had hoped to rent a plane from the airport. "According to published reports, law enforcement sources say Hanjour, in his mid-twenties, is suspected of crashing the American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. . . . "Hanjour had his pilot's license, said Bernard, but needed what is called a 'check-out' done by the airport to gauge a pilot's skills before he or she is able to rent a plane at Freeway Airport which runs parallel to Route 50. "Instructors at the school told Bernard that after three times in the air, they still felt he was unable to fly solo and that Hanjour seemed disappointed. "
Published reports said Hanjour obtained his pilot's license in April of 1999, but it expired six months later because he did not complete a required medical exam. He also was trained for a few months at a private school in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1996, but did not finish the course because instructors felt he was not capable. "Hanjour had 600 hours listed in his log book, Bernard said, and instructors were surprised he was not able to fly better with the amount of experience .… Pete Goulatta, a special agent and spokesman for the FBI, said it is an on-going criminal investigation and he could not comment." (pg. 1.) If you were the mastermind who planned this breathtaking terrorist attack, would you trust a man who took 600 hours of flying time and still could not do the job? Who was paying for Hanjour's lessons, and why? Yet this is the man the FBI would have us believe flew Flight 77 into the Pentagon "with extraordinary skill." He could not even fly a Cessna 172! Yes, maneuvering a Boeing 757 into a 270 degree turn under tense conditions (remember, the culprits were outmanned and had crude, non lethal weapons) demanded the skill of a fighter pilot. But why would those bad, bad, Muslims want to do such a thing? By shifting the plane's position so radically, Flight 77 managed to hit the side of the Pentagon *directly opposite* the side on which the offices of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chief of Staff were located. (Coincidentally, Flight 77 hit the offices of Army operations (U.S. News an World Report, Sept. 14, 2001, pg. 25). Recall, it was the Army that warned of the possibility that Israel's Mossad might make a terror attack against the US.) The masterminds of Operation 911 were prepared to sacrifice the rank and file, but carefully avoided touching a hair on the head of the brass. It reminds one of Operation Northwoods, doesn't it? Remember the rank and file sailors who were to be sacrificed on a US Naval vessel in Guantanamo Bay, in order to justify war with Cuba? No, neither Hanjour nor any other Muslim suicide pilot was at the controls of this plane. It had been fitted with Global Hawk technology and was being remotely controlled.
Let's Meet The Other Aces
According to The Washington Post (September 19, 2001, "Hijack Suspects Tried Many Flight Schools," Mohammed Atta, alleged hijacker of Flight 11, and Marwanal-Al-Shehhi, alleged hijacker of Flight 175, both of which crashed into the World Trade Center, attended hundreds of hours of lessons at Huffman Aviation, a flight school in Venice, Florida. They also took lessons at Jones Aviation Flying Service Inc., which operates from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. According to the Post, neither experience "worked out." "A flight instructor at Jones who asked not be identified said Atta and Al Shehhi arrived in September or October" and asked to be given flight training. Atta, the instructor said, was particularly difficult. "He would not look at your face," the instructor said. 'When you talked to him, he could not look you in the eye. His attention span was very short." The instructor said neither man was able to pass a Stage I rating test to track and intercept. After offering some harsh words, the instructor said, the two moved on .... "We didn't kick them out, but they didn't live up to our standards." (page A 15.)
Or try the Washington Post: Alleged hijackers Nawaq Alhazmi (Flight 77), Khaid Al-Midhar (Flight 77) and Hani Hanjour (Flight 77) all spent time in San Diego. "Two of the men, Alhazmi and Al-Midhar, also briefly attended a local fight school, but they were dropped because of their limited English and incompetence at the controls.... "Last spring, two of the men visited Montgomery Field, a community airport ... and sought flying lessons. They spoke to instructors at Sorbi's Flying Club, which allowed them to take only two lessons before advising them to quit. "'Their English was horrible, and their mechanical skills were even worse,' said an instructor, who asked not to be named. 'It was like they had hardly even ever driven a car .....' "'They seemed like nice guys,' the instructor said, 'but in the plane, they were dumb and dumber.'" ("San Diegans See Area as Likely Target," Washington Post, September 24, 2001, pg. A7.) But the masterminds would not need competent pilots -- if they had Global Hawk technology.
Missing: Air Traffic Control Conversations
Now, let's look at the contemporaneous media coverage of Operation 911. Did you notice that during the event and for weeks after, we heard no excerpts from the conversations between the air traffic control centers and the pilots of the four aircraft? Those conversations are recorded by the air traffic control centers. Surely those conversations were newsworthy. They should have been available to the media immediately. Why didn't we hear them? I believe the answer to this question is simple: If we could hear the conversations that took place, we would hear the airline pilots telling air traffic control that the controls of their airplanes would not respond. The pilots, of course, would have no way of knowing that their craft had been fitted with Global Hawk technology programmed to take over their planes. But no, we MUST believe the crashes were the work of Muslim terrorists. Therefore we were not permitted to hear the news as it happened. We will have to wait for the FBI/military intelligence people to cook up doctored and fictional conversations. They will then serve them to the public through the complicitous mass media and strategically placed "investigative reporters," and we will be asked to swallow them. Many of us will. (See Christian Science Monitor story discussed below, in "Conversations with Flight 11.")
Yassaboss
That the airlines cooperated and did whatever the FBI told them to do is no secret. The Washington Post of September 12, 2001, says this: "Details about who was on Flight 77, when it took off and what happened on board were tightly held by airline, airport and security officials last night. All said that the FBI had asked them not to divulge details." Think back to Operation Northwoods in which the Pentagon considered reporting a bogus passenger airplane being shot down by a non-existent Cuban fighter jet. The Pentagon was obviously confident that some airline would go along with the deception. Not surprising, considering many commercial airline pilots and executives are former military pilots, and the government controls the airline industry in many ways. These pilots and executives were trained to do as they are told, and would be out of a job if they broke the rules. Why would the take-off time and the passenger list be held secret? The passengers, crew, and culprits were all dead. The relatives must have known that when they heard the news of the crashes. Flight departure and arrival times had been public knowledge. The masterminds knew the details of their own plans. No, it was the PUBLIC that was being denied information, and the significant information being denied was the conversations between the air traffic controllers and the pilots. Recall that during the Vietnam War, the US "secretly" bombed Cambodia. The bombing was no secret to the Cambodians. It was only a secret from the American public, who were paying for the war and may have have objected to the slaughter. And that's the only purpose of the Operation 911 secrecy: To keep the information from the public.
Communication With Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, left Boston at 7:59 a.m. on its way to Los Angeles. It was allegedly piloted by Mohamed Atta, one of the pilots who couldn't fly, discussed above. "Boston airport officials said they did not spot the plane's course until it had crashed, and said the control tower had no unusual communications with the pilots or any crew member." (Washington Post, September 12, 2001, "At Logan Airport, Nobody Saw Plane's Sharp Turn South," pg. A 10.) Sorry, this report is not credible. Airplanes are tracked constantly. The skies over the US are for too busy for us to have a lackadaisical attitude. Note the date of the Washington Post story: September 12. Now compare it to the very different story that appeared a day later, in the Christian Science Monitor: "An American Airlines pilot stayed at the helm of hijacked Flight 11 much of the way from Boston to New York, sending surreptitious radio transmissions to authorities on the ground as he flew. "Because the pilot's voice was seldom heard in these covert transmissions, it was not clear to the listening air-traffic controllers which of the two pilots was flying the Boeing 767. What is clear is that the pilot was secretly trying to convey to authorities the flight's desperate situation, according to controllers familiar with the tense minutes after Flight 11 was hijacked. The story goes on to say that the conversations were overheard by the controllers because the pilot had pushed a "push-to-talk" button. "When he [the pilot] pushed the button and the terrorist spoke, we knew. There was this voice that was threatening the pilot, and it was clearly threatening. During these transmissions, the pilot's voice and the heavily accented voice of a hijacker were clearly audible ...." There are some logical problems with this account, of course, not the least of which is that a) we are told the pilot's voice was seldom heard, b) it was not possible to tell which pilot was at the controls, and c) during the transmissions the pilot's voice was clearly audible.
This accounting is spook talk. Let's get to the heart:
"All of it was recorded by a Federal Aviation Administration traffic control center. Those tapes are now presumed to be in the hands of federal law-enforcement officials, who arrived at the flight-control facility minutes after Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center. The tapes presumably could provide clues about the hijackers -- and may become even more important if they plane's 'black boxes' are damaged or never found." ("Controllers' tale of Flight 11," The Christian Science Monitor, September 13, 2001.) So, yes, the same "federal law-enforcement" machinery that cooked up the David Koresh negotiation tapes and arranged to destroy the evidence at the Mt. Carmel Center in the April 19 inferno will be handling these records, too.
Flight 175
The Washington Post reported a similar story for United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center tower at 9:06 a.m. "Less than 30 minutes into a journey that was to have taken six hours, Flight 175 took a sharp turn south into central New Jersey, near Trenton, an unusual diversion for a plane heading west, airline employees said. It then headed directly toward Manhattan. "Somewhere between Philadelphia and Newark--less than 90 minutes from Manhattan--the aircraft made its final radar contact, according to a statement released by United Airlines," (Washington Post, "'Everything Seemed Normal When They Left' Boston Airport," September 12, 2001, pg. A10.) Once again, there was no contemporaneous, detailed, first hand information from the air traffic controllers about communication from the air traffic controllers. Of course the controls would not respond to manual directions if they were under the control of Global Hawk.
Flight 11/Flight 175
Hijacker Passport Found We have just mentioned the distinct possibility that the masterminds of Operation 911 will manufacture evidence. Well, here is a CNN story for your consideration: In New York, several blocks from the ruins of the World Trade Center, a passport authorities said belonged to one of the hijackers was discovered a few days ago, according to city Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. That has prompted the FBI and police to widen the search area beyond the immediate crash site. ("Leaders urge 'normal' Monday after week of terror ..., September 16, 2001 Posted: 7:07p.m. EDT (2307 GMT)
We are asked to believe that one of the hijackers brought his passport with him on a domestic fight, even though he knew he would not need it then, or ever again; that upon impact the passport flew from the hijacker's pocket (or was he holding it in his hands?), that the passport flew out of the aircraft, that it flew out of the burning tower, and that it was carried by the air currents and landed safely, where it could be discovered, several blocks away ... Lawd, WHO WRITES THIS STUFF? (Amazing how CNN pulled a tape of bin Laden made in October out of nowhere the same week they first lost out to Fox News in the ratings.)
Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757, was scheduled to leave Newark Airport at 8:01 a.m. for San Francisco. We are told it crashed into an abandoned coal mine near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:37 a.m., one hour and 50 minutes after the first World Trade Center tower was hit. Without a doubt, Flight 93 was *shot* down. The first TV network reports said exactly that: Flight 93 had been shot down by a military jet. That information even made it into the print media. "Local residents said they had seen a second plane in the area, possibly an F-16 fighter, and burning debris falling from the sky. [FBI Agent] Crowley said investigators had determined that two other planes were nearby but didn't know if either was military. " ("Stories swirl around Pa. crash; black box found," USA Today, September 14, 2001. ) "Pieces of the wreckage have been found as far away as New Baltimore, about eight miles from the crash site. When the eastbound plane crashed, a 9-knot wind was blowing from the southeast, [FBI Agent] Crowley said. ("Bereaved may visit Flight 93 site," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Friday, September 14, 2001.) On September 11, "[r]esidents and workers at businesses outside Shanksville, Somerset County, reported discovering clothing, books, papers, and what appear to be human remains. Some residents said they collected bags-full of items to be turned over to investigators. Others reported what appeared to be crash debris floating in Indian Lake, nearly six miles from the crash site." ("Investigators locate 'black box' rom Flight 93; widen search area in Somerset crash,"
The Washington Post reported that, just as Congressional leaders were discussing shooting the plane down, they learned it had crashed. ("Jetliner Was Diverted Toward Washington Before Crash in Pa," Sept. 12, 2001, pg. A10.) The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the FBI denied that the plane had been shot down. The FBI blamed the spread of debris over an 8-mile area on a 10 mph wind that was blowing at the time. Of the debris, TIME Magazine of September 11 says: "The largest pieces of the plane still extant are barely bigger than a telephone book." (Pages in this edition are not numbered: this quote appears on what should be pg. 40). Planes that crash do not disintegrate in this manner. However, the assertion that the hijackers had a bomb on board, and the bomb exploded, might provide an explanation for the disintegration. There is a problem with this story, however: Hijackers who planned to crash the plane into the Capitol would not want, or need, a bomb. In fact, a bomb might be counterproductive: Suppose it went off before hitting the plane hit the Capitol? The mission would be ruined. Bringing a bomb on board would greatly increase chances the hijacker who carried the bomb would be detected when boarding. And it's hard to imagine why hijackers would mutilate and dismember passengers with plastic knives and box cutters when they were planning to blow them up, anyway. No, the bomb story does not wash.
Missing Air Traffic Control Conversations
According to a an ABC news report by Peter Dizikes on September 13: "Federal Aviation Administration data shows Flight 93 followed its normal flight plan until it neared Cleveland, where the plane took a hard turn south. "That marks the point at which the plane must have been hijacked, investigators say. Then it took a turn east." Note that the investigators used the phrase "must have been" hijacked. Didn't they know? Weren't the air traffic controllers in touch with the pilots? But the direction changes with the next paragraph: "ABCTVNEWS has learned that shortly before the plane changed directions, someone in the cockpit radioed in and asked the FAA for a new flight plan, with a final destination of Washington." Now THAT conversation must have been interesting! You can imagine the response of the air traffic controller: "Excuse me? Flight 93, you're in the middle of a scheduled trip to San Francisco, but you're just changed your mind and want to spend the day in Washington? Please explain." According to an MSNBC story of September 22, 2001, Flight 93 was late taking off, and did not make its way down the runway until 8:41 a.m.
It was aloft for almost two hours, crashing at 10:37 a.m. Making a rough estimate from the distances traveled and the time in the air (see TIME Magazine, September 11, "The Paths of Destruction" ), Flight 93 went off course sometime between 9:45 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Recall that both towers had been hit by 9:06 a.m., and the New York airports had been closed since 9:17 a.m. It would have been impossible for an air traffic controller on duty between 9:45--10:00 a.m. not to know that commercial air traffic in the US was in a dire emergency from "suicide planes." And now Flight 93 calls in, asking permission to do a U-turn, fly east an hour and a half, and land in Washington DC ??? What, the pilot was nervous and didn't know there were airports in the midwest? I'd love to hear the REAL conversation between Flight 93 and the air traffic controllers, wouldn't you? But I think we'll have to wait a while ... Come to think of it, why would a *hijacker* call in to ask for an OK to change directions?
Conflicting And Unbelievable Reports
The networks dropped the story that Flight 93 had been shot down and now said that Flight 93 passengers called their families and described a hijacking. The hijackers were armed with box razors, and overwhelmed the passengers and crew. The hijackers also mutilated and dismembered the passengers, presumably with their plastic knives and box cutters. What a messy job that must have been! We were not told if the hijackers chatted to the passengers. (I heard the mutilation/ dismemberment story once while watching network TV coverage. Then the story was dropped.) On the other hand, TIME Magazine reported that one of the passengers called home to say: "We have been hijacked. They are being kind." (TIME, Sept. 24, pg. 73.)
Who Were Those People, Anyway?
Before September 11, the combined forces of US military and domestic intelligence -- the CIA, the FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency -- were clueless that such a catastrophic event would occur. Yet a day or so later, the FBI had secured the names and mugshots of each of the 19 hijackers. How did the FBI know who the hijackers were? After all, all the eyewitnesses are dead. How could the FBI distinguish between "regular" Muslims and hijacker Muslims on those flights? Or did they just go through the passenger lists culling out the Muslim-sounding names and labeling the people bearing those names as hijackers? "You're Muslim so you're a hijacker..." On September 30 I looked at the passenger lists of those four flights. To my surprise, the lists contained none of the hijackers' names. Names could have been added just as easily as they may have been deleted.
Don't Take The Credit, Take The Blame
By now you've realized that it's OK to believe in conspiracies provided they are Muslim conspiracies. In fact, we MUST believe that a man who dresses in sheets lives in a tent or a cave in the middle of nowhere - Osama bin Laden -- was the mastermind. He used his $300 million fortune to pull off Operation 911. Come to think of it, how do we know the size of his fortune? Does the FBI know his banker? And given that the world's banking system is highly centralized and in the hands of Mr. bin Laden's avowed enemies, how could our terrorist tent-dweller have retained his fortune all these years? If Mr. bin Laden could have pulled this off in New York, why didn't he pick on his more direct enemy, Israel, and do a 911 on them? Brilliant as Mr. bin Laden is, he forgot to take credit for the attack. Even worse, he forgot to issue any demands. He allowed his operatives to use their Muslim names and leave a clear trail for the FBI to follow. Mr. Atta, the pilot of Flight 11 (north World Trade Center), was particularly helpful. He kindly left his car at the Boston Airport. Luckily, an unnamed source drew the FBI's attention to this car. According to radio reports, the FBI found a suicide note written in Arabic and a copy of the Koran in the car. Mr. Atta liked to write in Arabic; he wrote a second, long document in that language, which, for some reason, he put in his luggage. Coincidentally, this luggage did not make it to Flight 11, so the FBI found it at the airport. Another lucky break! But why Mr. Atta would take luggage on a suicide mission has not been explained. The same note was carried by one of the hijackers on Flight 93, and, Mother of Miracles! survived the crash, even though the airplane itself was torn into shards. Everything was so amazing that Bob Woodward, the man who talks to the dead, was called in to write a story about it all. Mr. Woodward's article. Mr. Atta sounds like an old lawyer with his wires crossed, exhorting his co-conspirators to remember their wills and reminding them that Mohammed was an "optimist;" exhorting his fellows to "utilize" (ugh--there's a lawyer's word for you -- what's Arabic for "utilize"?) their few hours left to ask God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness for what? They were about to die heros, martyrs in the good cause ...
Sure, we believe every word. We swallow the whole story.
On the other hand, here is the International Television News article on the Global Hawk: "The aircraft essentially flies itself, right from take-off, right through to landing, and even taxiing off the runway." - Australian Global Hawk manager Rod Smith. A robot plane has made aviation history by becoming the first unmanned aircraft to fly across the Pacific Ocean. The American high-altitude Global Hawk spy plane flew across the ocean to Australia, defence officials confirmed. The Global Hawk, a jet-powered aircraft with a wingspan equivalent to a Boeing 737, flew from Edwards Air Force Base in California and landed late on Monday at the Royal Australian Air Force base at Edinburgh, in South Australia state. The 8600 mile (13840 km) flight, at an altitude of almost 12.5 miles (20 km), took 22 hours and set a world record for the furthest a robotic aircraft has flown between two points. The Global Hawk flies along a pre-programmed flight path, but a pilot monitors the aircraft during its flight via a sensor suite which provides infra-red and visual images. "The aircraft essentially flies itself, right from takeoff, right through to landing, and even taxiing off the runway," said Rod Smith, the Australian Global Hawk manager. "While in Australia, the Global Hawk will fly about 12 maritime surveillance and reconnaissance missions around Australia's remote coastline. "It can fly non-stop for 36 hours and search 52,895 square miles (37,000 square km) in 24 hours. Australia is assessing the aircraft and might buy it in the future. "Emerging systems such as the Global Hawk offer Australia great potential for surveillance, reconnaissance and ultimately the delivery of combat power," said Brendan Nelson, parliamentary secretary to the Australian defence minister. "Nelson said the Global Hawk could be used in combat to 'detect, classify and monitor' targets as they approached the Australian coast."
