The commoditization of spy hardware.

A UK company called QinetiQ has built a solar powered plane, that has been able to fly non-stop for nearly 84 hours, which is a significant achievement. QinetiQ's main market for this is supposedly UAV type aircraft for surveillance.

While the plane's current flight ceiling is 60,000 ft, it's pretty clear that 100,000 ft is not too far off, and what that means is a UAV that can fly above any territory without being shot down, since it will fly beyond the range of almost any air-to-air or surface-to-air missile. In essence this is a poor man's spy satellite, and in some respects superior since one can come close to the benefits of a geosynchronous orbit, without actually having to be in high orbit.