Editing Surveillance aircraft (section)

==Current military applications==
[[File:Global Hawk 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk|RQ-4 Global Hawk]] is a high-altitude, [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|remotely-piloted]] surveillance [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAV]].]]

[[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle|Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)]] surveillance aircraft have been "deployed or are under development in many countries, including Israel, Iran, the UK, the United States, Canada, China, India, South Africa and Pakistan."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Simon |date=2012-08-03 |title=Drones by country: who has all the UAVs? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/aug/03/drone-stocks-by-country |access-date=2019-03-19 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Most air forces around the world lack dedicated surveillance planes.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

Several countries adapt aircraft for electronic intelligence ([[ELINT]]) gathering. The [[Beech Aircraft|Beech]] [[C-12 Huron|RC-12 Super King Air]] and [[Boeing]] [[Boeing RC-135|RC-135 Rivet Joint]] are examples of this activity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Withington |first=Thomas |date=2017-10-16 |title=Keeping Your Ears Open |url=https://armadainternational.com/2017/10/keeping-your-ears-open-elint/ |access-date=2020-04-11 |website=Armada International |language=en-US}}</ref>

Unmanned surveillance UAVs include both airships—such as [[Sky Sentinel]]<ref name="gm201306112">{{cite news |last1=Govers |first1=Francis X. III |date=2013-06-11 |title=Nevada company launches silent Sky Sentinel UAV airship |url=http://www.gizmag.com/unmanned-airship-silent-sentinel/27867/ |access-date=2014-08-16 |publisher=gizmag.com}}</ref> and HiSentinel 80<ref name="tt20102">{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=William D. |date=Fall–Winter 2010 |title=Sentinel in the Sky |url=http://www.swri.org/3pubs/ttoday/Fall10/PDFs/Sentinel-in-the-Sky.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524200115/http://www.swri.org/3pubs/ttoday/Fall10/PDFs/Sentinel-in-the-Sky.pdf |archive-date=2011-05-24 |access-date=2014-08-16 |publisher=Technology Today}}</ref>—and airplanes.

=== South China Sea ===
The United States military has flown reconnaissance flights, called sensitive reconnaissance operations (SRO) by the U.S. Air Force, to monitor expansionist developments by the [[China|People’s Republic of China]], [[North Korea]], and [[Russia]] in the Indo-Pacific region for decades; however, recent operations in the region have focused on monitoring movements by the People’s Republic of China. More than ten different aircraft are used for SRO missions in the theater, including manned aircraft USAF [[Boeing RC-135|RC-135 Rivet Joint]] and U-2 Dragon Lady, and the unmanned aircraft [[Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk|RQ-4 Global Hawk]]. Reconnaissance missions are capable of changing course within minutes to monitor activity and therefore used for reconnaissance missions more often than satellites, which can take hours or days to change position and are vulnerable to anti-satellite weapons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strengthening Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Employment in the Indo-Pacific Region > Air University (AU) > Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs Article Display |url=https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3006917/strengthening-intelligence-surveillance-and-reconnaissance-employment-in-the-in/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.airuniversity.af.edu}}</ref>

=== Russian invasion of Ukraine ===
Small unmanned drones have been used by the [[Armed Forces of Ukraine|Ukrainian military]] to identify enemy units and navigate artillery fire for safer and more efficient attacks on Russian targets, record propaganda videos of ambushes for posting on social media, and document alleged Russian war crimes and damages. Class I and III drone systems, classified by [[NATO]] as those of less than 150 kilograms and more than 600 kilograms, respectively, have been the most frequently used in the region. Turkish [[Bayraktar TB2]] military drones have often been utilized by Ukraine in both reconnaissance and strike missions, and both Ukrainian and Russian militaries have used hobby drones donated to them by civilians, such as [[DJI Mavic]] mini drones, to conduct surveillance and strikes on enemy troops.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kunertova |first=Dominika |date=2023-03-04 |title=The war in Ukraine shows the game-changing effect of drones depends on the game |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.2023.2178180 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |language=en |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=95–102 |doi=10.1080/00963402.2023.2178180 |issn=0096-3402|hdl=20.500.11850/606858 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

=== Israel-Hamas War ===
The United States military had flown MQ-9 Reapers, unmanned aerial vehicles capable of more than 20 consecutive hours of flight, over the [[Gaza Strip]] for at least a month after the [[Gaza war|surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023]]. According to the U.S. Defense Department, flights collected surveillance with the purpose of locating hostages taken by Hamas during the surprise attack on Israel and finding signs of life, but did not aid Israeli military ground operations.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mellen |first1=Riley |last2=Schmitt |first2=Eric |date=2023-11-02 |title=U.S. Drones Are Flying Over Gaza to Aid in Hostage Recovery, Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-hostages-us.html |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The British military also carried out flights over Gaza to locate hostages initially using unarmed [[Shadow R1]] aircraft.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Yee |first1=Vivian |last2=Harouda |first2=Ameera |last3=Minsberg |first3=Talya |date=2023-12-03 |title=Israel-Hamas War: Israel's Military Widens Evacuation Orders in Southern Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/12/03/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As of March 2024, the Israeli military conducted hundreds of flight hours and almost 100 sorties in Gaza using the Oron reconnaissance aircraft, previously used as a business jet and upgraded to include advanced sensors and defense systems.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-29 |title=Meet 'Oron': Israel's new reconnaissance aircraft already used in Gaza |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-794318 |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Israel-Hezbollah Conflict ===
On June 18, 2024, [[Hezbollah]] released  drone footage capturing sensitive sites in northern Israel, including military complexes and naval bases around Haifa. This action showcased areas such as the Rafael Military Industries Complex and various naval facilities. Hezbollah's campaign aims to intimidate and threaten Israel by displaying its surveillance capabilities and asserting its ability to penetrate Israeli defenses. This act highlights Hezbollah's growing technological and operational threats against Israel's security.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-19 |title=What is Hezbollah's message behind their spy drone video? - analysis |url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-806889 |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Business aircraft===
With smaller equipment, long-range [[business aircraft]] can be modified in surveillance aircraft to perform specialized missions cost-effectively, from ground surveillance to maritime patrol:<ref>{{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/spotlight-bizjet-based-special-mission-aircraft |title= Spotlight on Bizjet-based Special Mission Aircraft |date= Jan 10, 2018 |author= Graham Warwick |work= Aviation Week & Space Technology}}</ref>
* the {{cvt|99,500|lb}}, 6,000 nmi [[Bombardier Global 6000]] is the platform for the USAF [[Northrop Grumman E-11]]A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, the radar-carrying ground-surveillance [[Raytheon Sentinel]] for the [[UK Royal Air Force]], and Saab's [[GlobalEye]] AEW&C carrying its [[Erieye]] AESA radar as UK's [[Marshall ADG]] basis for [[Elint]]/[[Sigint]] for the [[United Arab Emirates]]; it is also the base for the proposed [[Saab AB]] Swordfish MPA and the USAF [[Lockheed Martin]] [[JSTARS#Future|J-Stars Recap]] battlefield-surveillance program, while [[Israel Aerospace Industries|IAI]]'s ELI-3360 [[Maritime patrol aircraft|MPA]] is based on the Global 5000;
* The {{cvt|91,000|lb}}, 6,750 nmi [[Gulfstream G550]] was selected for the [[IAI EL/W-2085]] Conformal Airborne Early Warning [[AESA radar]] for Italy, [[Singapore]] and [[Israel]] (which also has IAI Sigint G550s) while [[L3 Technologies]] transfers the U.S. [[Gulfstream EA-37B Compass Call|Compass Call]] electronic-attack system to the G550 CAEW-based EC-37B, like the NC-37B range-support aircraft, and will modify others for Australia's {{abbr|AISREW|Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare}} program, [[Northrop Grumman]] proposes the G550 for the J-Stars Recap;
* [[Dassault Aviation]] developed the [[Falcon 900]] MPA and [[Falcon 2000]] Maritime Multirole Aircraft for France (which delayed its Avsimar requirement), South Korea and the [[Japan Coast Guard]] with a mission system developed with L3 and [[Thales Group]];
* [[Embraer]] delivered several [[EMB-145]]s as a platform for [[AEW&C]], MPA and multi-[[Military intelligence|intelligence]];
* the [[Beechcraft King Air 350]]ER is a platform for [[Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance|ISR]] versions, including L3's Spyder II and [[Sierra Nevada Corp.]]'s Scorpion and as the [[MC-12W]] for the [[U.S. Army]].