To the best of my knowledge, after reading links about X-plane UCAVs on the X-plane thread, there are no plans to have an air-to-air dogfighting UCAV even though the high G manuvers an unmanned aircraft can perform far exceeds present limitations.
What I am concerned about is the potential of electronic takeover of UCAVs and turning them against friendlies. You can bet if the Russians were putting UCAVs in the air the US would be figuring out how to exploit this potential.
Some interesting reading...
Below from -->
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/ucav-n.htmexcerpt:
"Naval Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV-N)
The system is based on the concept of Network Centric Warfare. The Mission Control System will employ operators at the center of information. Using intelligent decision aids, a single controller will be able to monitor and control several aircraft simultaneously.
The air vehicle itself will be intelligent; for example it will diagnose its current health and prognose its future health so that it can maximize its mission capability with degraded functionality. At the squadron level, higher echelon tactical unit levels, and fleet levels, an autonomic logistics system will suggest courses of action to tactical commanders to maximize effectiveness of the aircraft and parent fighting units. "
TIGERESS
Edit: I suspect if the US had competitors in UCAV development the logical leap would be UCAV air-to-air combat fighter planes. Imagine a biologically limited fighter (a BLF) going up against a non-biologically limited fighter (an NBLF); or two UCAVs dog fighting each other.
UCAVs don’t have families and don't require retirement pay nor do they burden the military with veterans’ needs and benefits and expenses and can be turned out on an assembly line.
UCAVs... Generals and Admirals long wished for Robot Warriors of the Air.
Imagine a near earth orbiting UCAV Aircraft Carrier launching UCAVs from overhead a remote target zone. Just the threat of that is intimidating beyond imagination. This is the 21st Century... look how far aircraft technology has progressed in the previous century.
Imagine a paranoid Gov't survailing their population centers 24 hours a day with UAVs and enforcing civil laws with urban UCAVs. A three foot wing span urban UCAV swooping down and spraying a crowd like a crop duster with low amounts of highly potent chemicals or attacking people with deadly, or near-deadly, force.
DARPA is probably already brainstorming on all this and much more... The Terminator movie series was based on real potentials not just impossible fantasies.
If enough urban UCAVs were in operation in IRAQ right now I would expect those who plant roadside IEDs could be put out of business. See one or more people in a potential IED placement zone; Shoot a small sniffer probe; detect explosives; hunt down and kill them all within moments or track them back to their base of operations and bomb the whole thing.
If the full force of government resources are brought to bear on such scenarios, its not a stretch to imagine utilizing such technologies in the homeland against citizens for any reason the government chooses.
The job of scientists and engineers is to turn problems into solutions for profit... I am an engineer; thats what I do for a living... turn problems into solutions for profit.
