Comments on: Killer Drone’s Big Brother

By: ebm

ebm — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:43:05 +0000

the f-22 and f-35 are over priced caca.the advanent of ucavs,has render these dogs out dated.the fa-18 tankbuster,aka,nortrash.

By: farzam

farzam — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 19:35:52 +0000

the informations about aircrafts are not complet

By: roweroert

roweroert — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 03:49:15 +0000

TO THOSE WHO GRIPE,THEY NEED A RIDE ON NICE HOSTILE A.O. FIND OUT HOW TIGHT THIER POSTIER CAN ASUME! THEN ASK THE IDIOT IF HE WANTS TO GO AGAIN.YOU MAY KNOW THE ANSWER.…

By: TrustButVerify

TrustButVerify — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 16:46:18 +0000

Neat idea, stormhawk! You could, say, reconfigure an F-15E (or some other two-seater able to keep up with the X-45, maybe an old A-6?) as a drone-minder and include it as part of the strike package.
The question of how the UCAV selects targets for A2A engagement is a valid one, IMHO, and I think it wouldn’t be too different from the system we have now with AWACS IDing targets and handing them off to fighters for interception. In this case, the scope dopes (a disparaging name for a very intense job, though we know it’s all in good fun) would simply hand targets off to the UCAV controller, or even directly to the UCAV.
Imagine… In some E-3 over the Sea of Japan, a captain right-clicks on a bandit, selects “INTERCEPT” from the menu, and clicks on a flight of A/FQ-45Cs to take it down…
And that’s why I’d never support it for use in a civilian-heavy traffic environment. AWACS can be wrong, too; a USAF pilot got a medal back in GWI for taking the time to visually ID a Saudi Tornado which the AWACS were calling for him to engage.

By: Stormhawk

Stormhawk — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:56:45 +0000

What I'm most worried about here is the "auto" mode. My computers flake out due to environmental factors quite often and they're hardened. What happens if a glitch causes it to forget/lose the whole "friendly, do not shoot file"? I would feel a whle lot easier about this if there was still human control over it. I'm thinking as bomber escort and extention of reach. You have an additional person on board controlling your fighter drones and perhaps using others to extend the range of precision targeting. Btw, does anyone know if these drones are capable of mid-air refueling?

By: Oz

Oz — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 06:34:41 +0000

you know its 2006 when you drop a bomb somewhere with a mouse click… im so pissed at this world… wasting money on crap instead of working together for a better future, spending money on medicine and stuff, oh well… whatever

By: hamster

hamster — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 04:30:57 +0000

I like the concept but I see too many problems, one of the main advantages about computers is that it can prcess thigs alot faster than human, but human can still process sonsory data much better than computers. Given the 3D nature of aircombat I’m not too hopeful about seeing UCAVs in a furball with even a cessna.
This is alot less of a problem now considering BVR missiles and stuff but would it be able to decide and pick targets of opportunity? would it be able to recognise what maneuvers its target is about to do?
I think the most serious problem of all, are you going to feel safe flying home for Christmas knowing that sharing your air space is an AI combat aircraft that might ID you as hostile? And what do you do when one of these open fire on civilians because its program legally ID them as hostile targets?
Would the UCAV be able to spot, identify and differentiate a bunch of refugee convoy from a military one travelling together? Or a jetliner from a military transport aircraft?
I tell you this, either way, gonna be a hell lot of programming to get those things to do the even basic stuff.

By: TrustButVerify

TrustButVerify — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 03:37:40 +0000

rutty–
Yes, to an extent. There are big savings in weight and complexity (no oxygen systems, ejection seats, instrumentation displays…) which is somewhat offset by the fact that the bigger aircraft require fairly sophisticated ground control suites for the pilot and payload operator. The aircraft also uses satellite bandwidth, a very hot commodity.
However, economy of scale comes into play as it’s been shown that one pilot can operate up to six UAVs simultaneously. And the Air Force might not want to admit it, but the average UAV operator doesn’t require quite the expensive skillset of an F-16 or B-1 driver…

By: rutty

rutty — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 17:17:47 +0000

I remember reading some time back that one of the bigger draws for UCAVs was that it cut down on the most expensive part of an aircraft, viz., the pilot and all of his training. Is this true?

By: TrustButVerify

TrustButVerify — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 15:14:13 +0000

Atroll,
I assume when you talk about “flipping” a drone you mean making it, uh, fight for the other side. I’m willing to grant that it’s possible, but given my understanding of present UAV control methods I can’t see it being done without an extreme compromise of DoD SATCOM networks, cryptographic keys, and control software. (We’re talking an order of magnitude above ULTRA or MAGIC, here.)
With that in mind, can you flesh out your UAV takeover scenario a bit?