-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
UAVs, not just an Air Force gig anymore
- Thread starter kanakAttack
- Start date
Always better to go "moon landing hard" instead of taking the easy/proven path. It's all about jobs, baby!
And here's a pitch really out of left field...how about a hand-operated tug and tow bar kinda like private pilots use to move their GA aircraft around?
MasterBates
Well-Known Member
Last summer on the IKE, there was some Hornet from PAX, sounds like the same thing.. They were testing it out, with a live pilot to take over if needed from the description we got.
If they are going to go to an all-UAV launch, then I want the FireScout to start covering some of the Plane Guard lines!
No way. I'd rather have the flight hours.
It did. The subtleties it was able to interpret from a live yellow shirt were amazing. PFM.
The video I saw was a little more in depth, but this guy explains the project.
PDF with some of the same testing and engineering geek-speak:
http://www.imarksweb.net/aws/view.p...QuZWR1L3B1YmxpY2F0aW9ucy9Tb25nREQyMDExYS5wZGY=
PDF with some of the same testing and engineering geek-speak:
http://www.imarksweb.net/aws/view.p...QuZWR1L3B1YmxpY2F0aW9ucy9Tb25nREQyMDExYS5wZGY=
That's pretty amazing. A lot will have to still go into it to be sure. There is just so much going on up there with multiple directors in close vicinity to each other, 6 different PC'S doing hook checks and control checks, LSE's handling helos, plus all the other moving parts that make up the organized chaos up there. I am sure it will work, I am just interested to see how it is employed both in the short and long term with the current makeup of the airwing plus the dynamic and fast paced environment of the flight deck during cyclic ops.
...which will free up the Yellow Shirts to conduct FOD walk and man their brooms (which I'm sure many will be happy to do, if it keeps them from being ERB fodder).
but then who will guide the robot guides?
Will the robots still cause "crunches" on a regular basis? If not, then they'll never truly replace yellow shirts!
Crunches are an unfortunate reality of the game of inches that is played up there. I know it seems like they are carelessly flinging the airwing aircraft around up there, but they take that shit deadly serious. I will admit that many times the investigation reveals stupid mistakes, but don't forget that those guys work in punishing conditions all day with no minimum crew rest. They often eat and rest in 10 minute spurts in flight deck control between cycles. It is a hard and thankless job.
Glory awaits UAV guys 
Drone Pilot To Receive First Air Force Cross Medal Since Vietnam
By Kimberly Motan, Associated Press
INDIAN SPRINGS, NV – An Air Force drone pilot who managed to fly his MQ-9 Reaper for 76 straight hours through multiple firefights will receive the Air Force Cross, Air Force officials confirmed today. Major Toby Keene will be the first Airman to receive the nation’s second highest award since the Vietnam War.
He is also the first American to receive this level of aerial combat decoration for actions taken inside the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Keene, from Dubuque, Iowa, will receive the award for his meritorious actions at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada during August 2012. During a week of heavy combat, he stayed at his console for more than three straight days, remotely piloting his Reaper drone through dozens of firefights 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. His aircraft was severely damaged by small arms fire.
The Air Force is already trumpeting Major Keene as a modern-day Carlos Hathcock, the legendary Marine sniper with 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam. Air Force officials have pointed out that Major Keene’s 179 confirmed kills during the operation arguably make him one of the greatest marksmen in history. There are already plans to use him in recruiting commercials, similar to the Israeli Defense Force’s public parades for missile ace Idan Yahya.
Major Keene recently received a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Joe Biden at Creech Air Force Base. “When they told me the Vice President of the United States was calling for me, I was a little reluctant to pick up the phone. It was my lunch break, and if you don’t get in line at least an hour early, the only prime rib they have left is medium well.”
Major Keene eventually took the call while sipping a White Russian and sunning himself at the base relaxation pool in-between missions. This medal will be in addition to the Purple Heart he has already been awarded for severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome pain endured during the same event.
A designated senior master drone pilot, Keene has never flown a conventional aircraft. His reporting senior, BGEN Jonathon Manziel says, “…it doesn’t really matter, Keene won a PlayStation TWO flight simulator competition in high school, demonstrating the superior airmanship skills we are looking for.” Also, Manziel noted that he actually put Keene in for a Meritorious Service Medal (his twelfth of this lesser award) “…but the White House ‘bumped it up.’”
“Most people think of drone pilots as glorified computer junkies, but we’re really modern-day snipers,” Major Keene told the Associated Press. “We’re out there, days at a time, watching the same compound, with nothing but candy bars from the vending machine to keep us going and the sounds of Sons of Anarchy playing on our iPods.”
Keene was accepted by and attended the United States Air Force Academy after failing to meet the academic standards required by Texas A&M University. “I also could have attended the University of Texas, but they aren’t in the SEC!” Keene said.
The Associated Press has learned that the U. S. Navy had offered Major Keene a congratulatory flight with the Blue Angels. Keene declined the invitation and, while turning away, muttered something on the order of “…pulling G’s is for pussies…”
By Kimberly Motan, Associated Press
INDIAN SPRINGS, NV – An Air Force drone pilot who managed to fly his MQ-9 Reaper for 76 straight hours through multiple firefights will receive the Air Force Cross, Air Force officials confirmed today. Major Toby Keene will be the first Airman to receive the nation’s second highest award since the Vietnam War.
He is also the first American to receive this level of aerial combat decoration for actions taken inside the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Air Force is already trumpeting Major Keene as a modern-day Carlos Hathcock, the legendary Marine sniper with 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam. Air Force officials have pointed out that Major Keene’s 179 confirmed kills during the operation arguably make him one of the greatest marksmen in history. There are already plans to use him in recruiting commercials, similar to the Israeli Defense Force’s public parades for missile ace Idan Yahya.
Major Keene recently received a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Joe Biden at Creech Air Force Base. “When they told me the Vice President of the United States was calling for me, I was a little reluctant to pick up the phone. It was my lunch break, and if you don’t get in line at least an hour early, the only prime rib they have left is medium well.”
Major Keene eventually took the call while sipping a White Russian and sunning himself at the base relaxation pool in-between missions. This medal will be in addition to the Purple Heart he has already been awarded for severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome pain endured during the same event.
A designated senior master drone pilot, Keene has never flown a conventional aircraft. His reporting senior, BGEN Jonathon Manziel says, “…it doesn’t really matter, Keene won a PlayStation TWO flight simulator competition in high school, demonstrating the superior airmanship skills we are looking for.” Also, Manziel noted that he actually put Keene in for a Meritorious Service Medal (his twelfth of this lesser award) “…but the White House ‘bumped it up.’”
“Most people think of drone pilots as glorified computer junkies, but we’re really modern-day snipers,” Major Keene told the Associated Press. “We’re out there, days at a time, watching the same compound, with nothing but candy bars from the vending machine to keep us going and the sounds of Sons of Anarchy playing on our iPods.”
Keene was accepted by and attended the United States Air Force Academy after failing to meet the academic standards required by Texas A&M University. “I also could have attended the University of Texas, but they aren’t in the SEC!” Keene said.
The Associated Press has learned that the U. S. Navy had offered Major Keene a congratulatory flight with the Blue Angels. Keene declined the invitation and, while turning away, muttered something on the order of “…pulling G’s is for pussies…”
^^^...seething...
We already got drones to explore the planets for us. Maybe we can get them to fly missions, fight in the trenches, drive ships, tanks, and our personal automobiles, climb mountains, do our critical thinking, and have fun for us too. Then we can all sit around and bitch about politics and put the drones in for medals.
We already got drones to explore the planets for us. Maybe we can get them to fly missions, fight in the trenches, drive ships, tanks, and our personal automobiles, climb mountains, do our critical thinking, and have fun for us too. Then we can all sit around and bitch about politics and put the drones in for medals.