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Are manned missile trucks even valuable for countering electronic attack? I'm thinking "no". A missile truck can definitely be AI'ed or controlled remotely.

Are manned missile trucks even valuable for countering electronic attack? I'm thinking "no". A missile truck can definitely be AI'ed or controlled remotely. Perhaps only CAS can't be made unmanned. Cost is a huge problem. We now have unmanned carrier launched refueling trucks that I bet are incredibly cheap. Make them a tad bigger, put missiles in them, and you have a super cheap replacement for the F-35. The F-35 can stick around in small numbers for when you really need a human, if you really need a human in the cockpit. Cost has to drive us to this.

nradov 6y ago
The MQ-25 unmanned carrier launched tanker has a unit cost of about $180M. That's more expensive than many manned aircraft. It is in no way cheap.
- jki275 6y ago
  Suspect that includes all the R&D amortized over the couple of vehicles that have been built. The actual device if it's ever fielded wouldn't be anywhere near that price.
  - nradov 6y ago
    No that's total expected program cost divided by the planned total of 72 aircraft, not just the first couple. These are extremely expensive machines no matter how you slice it. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/08/30/us-navy-selects-builder-for-new-mq-25-stingray-aerial-refueling-drone/ https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/08/30/us-navy-selects... I don't understand why people persist in the fantasy that removing pilots will make aircraft cheap. That doesn't align with reality. There are some cost savings but when evaluated on a full program lifecycle basis they are relatively small.
    - jki275 6y ago
      It’s 4 vehicles. That’s basically an R&D program, not a procurement. They’re paying Boeing to learn how to build them.
      - nradov 6y ago
        Did you read the article? Expected program cost is $13B for 72 vehicles.
        jki275 6y ago
        I must have misread something, but those numbers don't make any sense. That article must be misunderstanding what the contract actually is. F18s cost only a little more than a third of that per unit.

nradov 6y ago

The MQ-25 unmanned carrier launched tanker has a unit cost of about $180M. That's more expensive than many manned aircraft. It is in no way cheap.

jki275 6y ago
Suspect that includes all the R&D amortized over the couple of vehicles that have been built. The actual device if it's ever fielded wouldn't be anywhere near that price.
- nradov 6y ago
  No that's total expected program cost divided by the planned total of 72 aircraft, not just the first couple. These are extremely expensive machines no matter how you slice it. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/08/30/us-navy-selects-builder-for-new-mq-25-stingray-aerial-refueling-drone/ https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/08/30/us-navy-selects... I don't understand why people persist in the fantasy that removing pilots will make aircraft cheap. That doesn't align with reality. There are some cost savings but when evaluated on a full program lifecycle basis they are relatively small.
  - jki275 6y ago
    It’s 4 vehicles. That’s basically an R&D program, not a procurement. They’re paying Boeing to learn how to build them.
    - nradov 6y ago
      Did you read the article? Expected program cost is $13B for 72 vehicles.
      - jki275 6y ago
        I must have misread something, but those numbers don't make any sense. That article must be misunderstanding what the contract actually is. F18s cost only a little more than a third of that per unit.