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Regarding China, we just don't know. That said, taking billions of dollars from one carrier and using it for hyper-sonic interception research so the other 10

Regarding China, we just don't know. That said, taking billions of dollars from one carrier and using it for hyper-sonic interception research so the other 10 can survive unscathed isn't terrible math. The important thing to realize is that in a war scenario sortie rates are important. Drones are great because they can take off from North Dakota, fly 20 hours half way around the world, drop some stuff then spend 20 hours flying back. Compare that to a carrier sortie where you take off, fly for two hours, drop something, and fly two hours back. That frees 36 hours on that airframe to get reloaded and go drop more stuff.

stcredzero 8y ago
The important thing to realize is that in a war scenario sortie rates are important. Sortie rates and the ability to use full military power for just a little longer. Just the extra time it took to fly over the English Channel was a significant advantage for RAF pilots over German pilots in the Battle of Britain.
fixvzbdjzis 8y ago
And how much does a drone and a drone hour cost?
- stcredzero 8y ago
  Even so, what if China responds with their own drones and takes advantage of their higher sortie rates?
  - AWildC182 8y ago
    ^there we go. I forgot to mention this. Sortie rates favor the defender if the attacker is far enough away. If A and B have 10 planes each and A's planes take 1 hour to kill something but B's planes take 2, A will win even with a significant technological disadvantage because you have to kill half their fleet before you reach parity.
- AWildC182 8y ago
  Vs a piloted aircraft? The difference is there but not in the realm of 2:1. As more tech gets loaded on them I suspect they'll reach parity with manned systems. The issue isn't so much wartime cost but the fleet cost as a whole. You get X drones from your budget and they cost a lot of money to maintain (not dissimilar to manned aircraft) so you can't always just have enough to make up for time in transit.
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/26/boeings-wingman-drone-buddies-up-with-pilot-flown-jets/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/26/boeings-wingman-drone-budd...

stcredzero 8y ago

The important thing to realize is that in a war scenario sortie rates are important. Sortie rates and the ability to use full military power for just a little longer. Just the extra time it took to fly over the English Channel was a significant advantage for RAF pilots over German pilots in the Battle of Britain.

fixvzbdjzis 8y ago

And how much does a drone and a drone hour cost?

stcredzero 8y ago
Even so, what if China responds with their own drones and takes advantage of their higher sortie rates?
- AWildC182 8y ago
  ^there we go. I forgot to mention this. Sortie rates favor the defender if the attacker is far enough away. If A and B have 10 planes each and A's planes take 1 hour to kill something but B's planes take 2, A will win even with a significant technological disadvantage because you have to kill half their fleet before you reach parity.
AWildC182 8y ago
Vs a piloted aircraft? The difference is there but not in the realm of 2:1. As more tech gets loaded on them I suspect they'll reach parity with manned systems. The issue isn't so much wartime cost but the fleet cost as a whole. You get X drones from your budget and they cost a lot of money to maintain (not dissimilar to manned aircraft) so you can't always just have enough to make up for time in transit.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/26/boeings-wingman-drone-buddies-up-with-pilot-flown-jets/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/26/boeings-wingman-drone-budd...