The US is working on ways to use High Definition Television in a new series of reconnaissance systems. Because HDTV eliminates blurring and provides more detail, it can identify specific types of vehicles at longer ranges. Normal TV, when seen in single frames, is so blurred as to be of little use when trying to pick tiny targets out of the background. Even better, with enough computing power, the images can be interpreted in real time to determine the precise speed of a target vehicle. The system could even focus on the door of a building and notify a human whenever it sees a human-sized object go through the door. HDTV recon drones could, perhaps, see through the tricks used by the Serbs to decoy NATO bombs away from real targets and onto dummies. --Stephen V Cole