The U.S. military, including the U.S. Coast Guard, has a long history of operating high-flying surveillance aircraft based on or otherwise derived from powered gliders. Recent pictures show U.S. special operators are at least training with one particularly rare type, the Grob G 520.
The rear portion of the aircraft’s ventral gondola would be perfect for a side-looking airborne radar with synthetic aperture and/or ground moving target indicator modes, or some combination of those capabilities.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/12569/unusual-high-altitude-spy-plane-appears-at-special-operations-exercise
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