Perhaps one could launch a tethered helium baloon with the antena and thus increasing the range ?
Or in the city one could deploy a bunch of radio relay stations and create a mesh.
Then I guess it all depends on how automated the plane is.
If it is able to track terrain, can stabilize itself and can be programmed to fly a round-trip mission, there might not be a need for a constant realtime radio link to it.
I can see configuring a flight & surveilance plan, launching it and just waiting for it to complete its mission then return, in a complete radio silence mode.
> Perhaps one could launch a tethered helium baloon with the antena and thus increasing the range ?
I used to know this guy that did something very very naughty back when he was a budding teen (late 1960s). He ordered a weather balloon from Edmund Scientific, filled it with helium, then attached an entire roll of heavy duty institutional grade aluminum foil to it. He then let it go... off the west coast of Florida. MacDill saw something on the radar, and sent a few fighters up to see what it was.
Somehow they tracked it back to him (possibly via Edmund) and he got a serious talking too, and then some.
Or in the city one could deploy a bunch of radio relay stations and create a mesh.
Then I guess it all depends on how automated the plane is. If it is able to track terrain, can stabilize itself and can be programmed to fly a round-trip mission, there might not be a need for a constant realtime radio link to it.
I can see configuring a flight & surveilance plan, launching it and just waiting for it to complete its mission then return, in a complete radio silence mode.