Author Topic: Unmanned Attack Squadron deployed (Read 609 times)

indy007 · « **on:** July 17, 2007, 01:49:52 PM »

Neat

USAF 432nd. Still building up to a full squadron of 60 Reapers & 160 Predators.

Reaper = Predator on steroids. 14 Hellfires, 900hp turboprop, 50k ceiling.

$69 million for 4 & the ground equipment. 4 A-10s would cost $52 million. Not too terrible imho. You lose some capability like the the cannon, but you could fly 3 or 4 of these at once with just 1 pilot in an air conditioned trailer safely away from one of the most dangerous air combat tasks.. and have lower overall operating costs.

GtoRA2 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2007, 01:55:49 PM »

It's is the wave of the future I would think.

Why risk a pilot if you can fly them from a remote location.

I read a series of books, about future wars, and all the fighting was done from trailers using remote control tank and aircraft drones...

Was an interesting read... can't recall the name.

Hey Eagl

How long before this type of thing puts fight pilots out of the ejection seat?

Ripsnort · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:05:37 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by GtoRA2
It's is the wave of the future I would think.

Why risk a pilot if you can fly them from a remote location.

I read a series of books, about future wars, and all the fighting was done from trailers using remote control tank and aircraft drones...

Was an interesting read... can't recall the name.

Hey Eagl

How long before this type of thing puts fight pilots out of the ejection seat?

15 years, according to my engineer friends at Boeing.

Seagoon · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:20:09 PM »

I'm not sure I'm looking forward to the day when drones do all of our fighting, killing, and dying for us. There is a big downside to taking risk out of warfare you know...

Ripsnort · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:22:07 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Seagoon
I'm not sure I'm looking forward to the day when drones do all of our fighting, killing, and dying for us. There is a big downside to taking risk out of warfare you know...

AquaShrimp · « **Reply #5 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:27:33 PM »

Reapers take 2 people to fly. A pilot and a sensor operator. Drones don't take the risk out of warfare. They take the risk out for Americans. The enemy still gets killed horribly. There are alot of guys in Iraq in harm's way that I wouldn't mind one bit being stateside operating a robot.

The Army has something similar. A small tracked vehicle about the size of a lawn tractor that can mount an M240g and maybe a few other weapons.

indy007 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:30:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by AquaShrimp
Reapers take 2 people to fly. A pilot and a sensor operator. Drones don't take the risk out of warfare. They take the risk out for Americans. The enemy still gets killed horribly. There are alot of guys in Iraq in harm's way that I wouldn't mind one bit being stateside operating a robot.

Right now at least. 2 guys in a trailer + swarm logic & tasking = 2 guys flying an entire squadron at once. DARPA is already working on it

I just want an R/C UAV as per the other thread with the PicoPilots.

Reschke · « **Reply #7 on:** July 17, 2007, 02:42:42 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Ripsnort
15 years, according to my engineer friends at Boeing.

My guess is that within 5 years after that the robot aircraft will create a hellish problem and we will want to put pilots back into the seats.

cpxxx · « **Reply #8 on:** July 17, 2007, 03:42:20 PM »

It's a brilliant idea, an attack squadron of drones. Brilliant that is until some unknown boffin works out a way to jam the downlink or take over control and send them back against their erstwhile masters.

Pilots aren't out of the loop yet.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #9 on:** July 17, 2007, 03:47:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by cpxxx
It's a brilliant idea, an attack squadron of drones. Brilliant that is until some unknown boffin works out a way to jam the downlink or take over control and send them back against their erstwhile masters.

Pilots aren't out of the loop yet.

Nor will they ever be out of the loop. There will just be less required for the more dangerous jobs, thankfully. And for every jam, there is an engineer working on an answer to prevent that jam.

john9001 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2007, 03:52:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by cpxxx
It's a brilliant idea, an attack squadron of drones. Brilliant that is until some unknown boffin works out a way to jam the downlink or take over control and send them back against their erstwhile masters.

Pilots aren't out of the loop yet.

my backup uplink will jam your jamming uplink and destroy your erstwhile jamming base.

indy007 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 17, 2007, 03:56:20 PM »

excuse me while I break out my ECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCM.

Jebus · « **Reply #12 on:** July 17, 2007, 04:11:50 PM »

Wouldnt it be great if you could subscribe to it like AH2.

Get home from work log on the computer, take a drone up. Fly over Iraq find some unfriendlies blow them up.

Land and long off the computer. Go play with the kids.

Think of the cost cutting it would bring in the military.

And if you think you are abou to loose your drone.... ALT- F4:aok

tedrbr · « **Reply #13 on:** July 17, 2007, 05:07:24 PM »

You all realize the counter to armed UAV's and dominant battlefield equipment like the Abrams tanks?

Enemy goes low tech. They go among the dense populations. You put your assets up against children's hospitals and mosques and residential apartments. Been the trend since Somalia and Bosnia. So, if you *do* hit them, you wind up with large numbers of civilian casualties.... collateral damage.... lot's of pictures on the internet and in the news of dead, burnt babies......which works against you in the world diplomatic and public relations arenas as well as at home in domestic politics.

Worst kind of fighting there is is urban fighting in someone else's city. Not the place you can do aerial bombardment or operate MBT's very well. It's the kind of fighting that takes more troops on the ground and MRAP vehicles. There's a lot of tech being developed....finally.... for that arena too.

crockett · « **Reply #14 on:** July 17, 2007, 05:19:06 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by GtoRA2
It's is the wave of the future I would think.

Why risk a pilot if you can fly them from a remote location.

I read a series of books, about future wars, and all the fighting was done from trailers using remote control tank and aircraft drones...

Was an interesting read... can't recall the name.

Hey Eagl

How long before this type of thing puts fight pilots out of the ejection seat?

Sounds all good and all.. However one nuke on the trailer lot and no more pilots and no more remote control planes. Not to mention if they decide to take out the satellites or somehow manage to jam the signals.

Of course these kinds of air craft have their places in the coming future. However I think being over dependent on them because of prices and pilots lives saved could be a big mistake later down the road.

There is always one thing about war that always seem to ring true, yet no one ever seems to learn from it. Nothing happens the way you expect it to. Mr Murphy is always around the next cornor.