WASHINGTON, Nov 24: The US military stepped up its surveillance in the skies over Afghanistan this week with the deployment of its latest pilotless spy plane, the Global Hawk.

In the hunt for suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network as well as members of the Taliban militia, the Pentagon is resorting to the services of the ungainly Global Hawk, a state of the art spy plane built by Northrop Grumman, to sharpen its eyes and ears.

The high-flying unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that is still under development is controlled from the ground and can operate at altitudes above 60,000 feet (18,200 meters). It can stay aloft for more than 30 hours, according to the air force.

It carries electro optical/infrared sensors and synthetic aperture radar to provide commanders with high resolution imagery covering large geographic areas.

It is also cheaper and slower than the Predator, another drone already patrolling the Afghan skies. Drones fulfil a crucial role in the scheme of military operations, filling in the blanks in intelligence by filming in virtual real time at slow speeds while staying in the skies for longer and without the risk to crew of manned flights.

Unlike the Global Hawk, the Predator RQ-1 is now armed and dangerous, loaded with Hellfire anti-tank missiles, according to the Pentagon. In fact an unmanned Predator is credited with the killing of Mohammad Atef, a top lieutenant of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, according the New York Times.

Had the drones been weaponized a year earlier, the September 11 terrorist onslaught on the United States may never have happened. The Wall Street Journal reports that the drones had bin Laden under surveillance on more than one occasion.

“CIA drones spotted Bin Laden in camps but couldn’t shoot,” the paper said.

At the time bin Laden had been indicted for the 1998 bombings at two US embassies in Africa in which more than 200 people died.

The arming of the Predators suggests that next time round the Pentagon hopes there will be no mistake.

Built by General Atomics, the Predator weighs a ton and is controlled from the ground by a team of technicians.

“They carry an electro-optical and an infrared video cameras, as well a synthetic aperture radar,” the Pentagon said of the drone.

But as winter approaches, the Predator’s limitations, including vulnerability to icing of the wings in cold weather, are evident.

The Pentagon admits that 19 Predators of the 60 in service have been lost, either due to enemy fire or by accident.

“We now have Global Hawk, which is a new element, and helpful because of winter weather coming and the difficulties the Predator has,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday.—AFP