UAVs, not just an Air Force gig anymore

It replaces the RAST trap. Same idea to secure to the deck before chock and chains.

Nice little milestone on UAVs that USAF will hit this year. The Navy will catch up sooner than a lot of folks will like.

So FireScout doesn't have RAST? Interesting. I'm curious how they worked out landing in rough, disorganized seas.

This probably is a completely retarded question, but I figured I'd ask anyways.

Theoretically couldn't an enemy jam/cut off the communication between the ship/base and the UAV?

Some of us manage to land helos without a RAST. The horror!

I was talking about the fucking robot landing in rough seas, smartass. :icon_tong

They can't get mad when we legitimately call them the chair force, now can they?

Not one but two of the high-level bad guys taken out... one by the U.S. and one in a power struggle to take his place.

Clicky

UAVs and the future of tactical aviation

I read a story last night in the WSJ headlined: "U.S. Drone Kills Chief of Taliban in Pakistan" (see below). This story, combined with a lot of press recently about the use and effectiveness of UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan, got me thinking about the future of manned combat aviation, at least in the U.S., since we seem to be on the forefront of this.

Just wondering what some of the folks' thoughts on here regarding this "revolution" are: how fast will UAVs be the standard for CAS missions; how soon until the last American fighter pilot flies; is the F-35 the last manned American aircraft, as Sec. Robert Gates says.

I know the Navy's X-47B is next up to bat. Personally, I find this all to be a bit of buzzkill; makes me think I'm just romanticizing an old-fashioned, soon to-be outdated job, the military equivalent of floor-based, open-outcry trading. Then I think about mission vs. platform, and what is best at helping the soldiers on the ground and on the frontlines. If UAVs are better able to assist them, then I think that's the only question that really matters. Air-to-air is another story, but something even I doubt we will ever be faced with again. Anyway, just wanted to see what some of the SNAs, wanna-bes, and current flyers think about all this, or if they think about it all??

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/23/wus.warfare.remote.uav/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124961991813313685.html

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=100780&sectionid=3510203

You'd probably get a more animated response over at f16.net, as many of the unwinged bomber/fighter selectees run a very high risk of piloting UAVs before they get to fly in the jets, if they ever get the opportunity.

Obviously anyone here can acknowledge this is happening, and there's no stopping these advances in technology, unless John Connor shows up and tells us it's a bad idea. Personally, I would entertain the idea of piloting a UAV helo at some point, just not yet.

Fleet guys feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but im sure the air to air war would be alive and well the moment we decided to fight a country with formidable air oponents, or any war in which we didn't immediately establish air superiority. I understand we have some badass BVR technology, but what about the times ROE requires a visual confirmation?

What about when the commie hordes attack with 20 ship formations and you run out of missiles, need to switch to guns?

Excellent post heyjoe, and definitely appreciate the candor. Sorry for the frontlines quip, and also sorry for the tarmac line in an older post as well -- as a mere civilian, I'm not exactly up to snuff on my military jargon, and may have watched Band of Brothers one too many times. Sorry.

Nonetheless, I didn't mean to be disrespectful or claim to know what the future of warfare will definitely look like or not. If anything, I agree with you about the inability to guess what the future holds, and subsequently, I totally believe in the being-prepared-for-any/all-scenarios- approach to defense spending/planning. As far as China goes however, I will say that both the U.S. and China have their hands firmly placed into each others mouths and I'm willing to wager neither will ever bite.

I just find it an interesting time to be pursuing a career in military aviation, given the huge advances in technology we've seen over this past decade. Hell the cockpit of the F-35 looks like it came out of an Apple design lab! And it seems to me that the rate of change is accelerating as relates to aviation. The statistic about the AF training more UAV pilots than fighter/bomber pilots (obviously doesn't include cargo, tankers, helo, etc.) really scared me.

I've worked in the trading industry for the past 4 years. I started in the pits, and I've seen what happened to the guys who got left behind as trading moved to the screen (electronically). Today, most of the guys in the business ride the desk clicking their mouse instead of looking each other in the face. That's not to say there aren't still guys on the floor, because there are, but they are a much smaller, less important part of the overall machine. I'm one of the romantics who went down there because I wanted to be a part of the club -- its still exclusive, but its just a helluva lot smaller. That's what resonates when I think about this type of stuff, that's all. Probably been giving it too much thought, but then again, I'm unemployed now so I've got way too much time on my hands...

You know, someone once thought that we'd never need guns again on aircraft, that missiles would rule the sky and we'd never again fight in the visual arena... I think that person was wrong too...

What if you have missiles but are too close?....:sleep_125

Bottom line: after you add up all your hi-tech systems and missiles and radars -- when the balloon goes up and the chips are down ... >>> the 'real deal'<<< ... ????

GIVEN THE CHOICE: any USN pilot worth his 'salt' would LOVE to close to guns and get the kill ... it just wouldn't get any better than that ...

Yessir. And whilest the square-jawed knights of the air are dueling with the wiley Asian Communist up at altitude in manly single combat, everyone else can worry about the hordes of cruise missiles and bombers on the deck trying to kill the Boat. Hell, that's why we have CIWS, right?