3 ms·

It's a fail because we are moving into unmanned fighting vehicles. Something that F-35 program has failed to foresee. Basically F-35 is the fighter of tomorro

It's a fail because we are moving into unmanned fighting vehicles. Something that F-35 program has failed to foresee. Basically F-35 is the fighter of tomorrow fighting threats of yesterday.

ancientworldnow 6y ago
But that's not what this article says. They're claiming the air force requesting a new manned fighter is evidence it failed. Meanwhile the F-35 is explicitly designed to control swarms of unmanned drones.
evgen 6y ago
The F-35 program did not fail to foresee the rise of unmanned vehicles, they built and adapted the aircraft and avionics around this concept. The F-35 cockpit, avionics, and helmet are designed to allow an F-35 pilot to command a fleet of drones performing roles ranging from scouting and EW to SEAD and direct attack.
- antattack 6y ago
  Human flying and directing drones to do some tasks is such a 20th century thinking. For one, human pilot in F-35 directing drones would be the weakest link. Why would you want to send a human pilot to face drone(s) that does not care for it's survival, can pull more Gs, calculate trajectory and make decisions faster?
  - thu2111 6y ago
    This comes up in every HN thread about fighter jets. Modern fighter aircraft are mobile missile launchers. They are judged primarily by whether they can get close enough to where they need to go without being detected, detect what they need to, and then launch good enough missiles. The missile is effectively the drone. Modern missiles are basically self-piloting autonomous drone rockets. In that regard the F-35 is fine, and automating the pilot is not necessarily a win because the AI isn't going to be doing ultra-high G dogfight turns anyway. The humans job is to react to unexpected situations and figure out something smart in situations where remote control isn't reliable or desirable (e.g. due to risk of detection).
    - antattack 6y ago
      I think it boils down to this: F-35, compared to unmanned aircraft, does not cost less than 6 million dollars a piece and it exposes American life to enemy fire.
  - goatinaboat 6y ago
    Why would you want to send a human pilot to face drone(s) Because an F35 can communicate over direct line-of-sight to its accompanying drones, so the whole package is very resistant to jamming or other interference.
- alacombe 6y ago
  Sounds like a last minute add-on to try to stay relevant.

It's a fail because we are moving into unmanned fighting vehicles. Something that F-35 program has failed to foresee. Basically F-35 is the fighter of tomorrow fighting threats of yesterday.

ancientworldnow 6y ago

But that's not what this article says. They're claiming the air force requesting a new manned fighter is evidence it failed. Meanwhile the F-35 is explicitly designed to control swarms of unmanned drones.

evgen 6y ago

The F-35 program did not fail to foresee the rise of unmanned vehicles, they built and adapted the aircraft and avionics around this concept. The F-35 cockpit, avionics, and helmet are designed to allow an F-35 pilot to command a fleet of drones performing roles ranging from scouting and EW to SEAD and direct attack.

antattack 6y ago
Human flying and directing drones to do some tasks is such a 20th century thinking. For one, human pilot in F-35 directing drones would be the weakest link. Why would you want to send a human pilot to face drone(s) that does not care for it's survival, can pull more Gs, calculate trajectory and make decisions faster?
- thu2111 6y ago
  This comes up in every HN thread about fighter jets. Modern fighter aircraft are mobile missile launchers. They are judged primarily by whether they can get close enough to where they need to go without being detected, detect what they need to, and then launch good enough missiles. The missile is effectively the drone. Modern missiles are basically self-piloting autonomous drone rockets. In that regard the F-35 is fine, and automating the pilot is not necessarily a win because the AI isn't going to be doing ultra-high G dogfight turns anyway. The humans job is to react to unexpected situations and figure out something smart in situations where remote control isn't reliable or desirable (e.g. due to risk of detection).
  - antattack 6y ago
    I think it boils down to this: F-35, compared to unmanned aircraft, does not cost less than 6 million dollars a piece and it exposes American life to enemy fire.
- goatinaboat 6y ago
  Why would you want to send a human pilot to face drone(s) Because an F35 can communicate over direct line-of-sight to its accompanying drones, so the whole package is very resistant to jamming or other interference.
alacombe 6y ago
Sounds like a last minute add-on to try to stay relevant.