It flies around 90 miles per hour. The Predator can stay in the air for 40 hours, loitering over dangerous areas. It sends back video images of what it is observing. Users, literally around the world, can view these images. Air Force officials are working on ways to uplink the Predator information to manned attack aircraft.
Pilots fly the aircraft from vans at their base.
The pilots flying the Predator remotely use controls found in a normal cockpit. One problem the controllers mention is the limited field of view. DOD officials will use the information they have gained from the Predator to build the next generation of UAVs. The possibility for fighter and bomber roles is also being explored. Made by Teledyne Ryan, Global Hawk will be bigger and fly higher and faster than the Predator.