- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
- Messages
- 15,347
- Display Name
Display name:
Velocity173
So stealth fixes everything? Do you know anything about stealthy aircraft design and the strengths and weaknesses/trade offs when deciding what type of stealth you want to put on an aircraft? It's not like the Klingon cloaking device, even in the X band. And speaking of which: there are a lot of ways to track and target aircraft. Ever heard of an IRSTS?
I will admit that I hate the thought of unmanned fighters because that's just the way I am. However, I find it difficult to believe that people who've never flown a tactical airplane can "assure me" that the unmanned fighter is the end all be all. Without having been there and done that, you have no credibility or idea of what you are saying. This isn't directed at Velocity173 or anyone in particular but to non tactical aviators in general. I can't count the number of times in the past 12 years of tactical flying that the mission (training and combat) was saved because someone in the flight just had a "gut feeling", picked up a tally out of the corner of their eye or made a split second decision that was correct because they were there in the moment. I've seen our new interfaces for UAVs, they aren't even in the ballpark (hell,not even the state or galaxy for that matter) of the amount of info you need to be able to effectively evaluate a constantly changing tactical situation. Man in the loop is an absolute requirement.
I didn't say stealth was perfect but there's no denying it gives a higher survival rate if you're penetrating a country that has radar. Why did they bother to modify the Black Hawks to a stealth configuration in the Bin Laden raids? Also I didn't say your job was going away completely but that we wouldn't have such a high reliance on manned fighter/attack aircraft in the future. This isn't just a non fighter pilot opinion. You can read this article from Air & Space. These opinions are from all former fighter pilots who now work for companies designing unmanned vehicles.
http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/Pilot-Not-Included.html
Last edited: