Indy, I would appreciate additional thoughts of what the Argus will bring to the table that is not currently available with existing technology. I held certain expectations based on the initial capabilities which were touted since TAO's involvement such as several day endurance and keeping station at high altitudes. Based on what has been disclosed about the new design, the endurance has been reduced to hours and the altitude is limited to less than 20K feet. Without the background to determine how this new Argus breaks new ground and fits into an overall strategy, I am in search of new ideas.
1) Cost savings has always been a component and I assume that is still a factor with Argus. The cost to make an LTA seems to be considerably less than other drones like the Predator.
2) Indirect infrastructure cost in terms of launching and flying an Argus would seem to be less as well, but I don't know how many people it takes to maintain, deploy and fly a traditional drone in comparison.
3) You have touched on the VTOL concept so I am guessing you mean Argus can be launched within a small clearing vs. the need for a runway. Also, by it's nature, it is designed to float and stay on station within a small area in the sky so it is easier to control and keep out of harms way vs. a propeller driven plane or helicopter especially within turbulent conditions.
4) If the Argus were to malfunction, what sort of crash landing would result? I am guessing a 20-30 pound payload and the resulting drag from the fabric envelope would cause less damage than a plane, but what about the fuel component? At one time, there was talk of a parachute system of sorts that would carry the payload back to earth but that was only touched upon awhile ago.
So...given my brainstorming of sorts, is the lure of the Argus in that it hits a "sweet spot" in terms of duration and function as compared with other drone technology?
I assume there are smaller and I think, cheaper, drones which can be easily launched, but might lack the duration and payload capabilites of the Argus. There are also larger solutions that have higher endurance and payload carrying ability, but at a much higher cost.
It seems to make sense, at least on paper, that there is a market for the Argus somewhere. I remain hopeful that the Space Florida data package and the Yuma/NV testing and tweaking was not just done for fun and there are parties involved that see the Argus as a tool to solve a specific requirement.
GTC involvement plus Globalstar would be the icing on the cake and even if the airship side of the business never takes off, the communications equipment side might turn into some decent profits even if they are carried by vehicles built by others.
Any additional thoughts are appreciated.
