4 ms·

I'm completely naive when it comes to this technology but surely drone technology is making all these piloted war machines redundant? Surely it must be easier/

by Narkov 13y ago

I'm completely naive when it comes to this technology but surely drone technology is making all these piloted war machines redundant? Surely it must be easier/cheaper/faster to develop a pilot-less drone to perform these tasks.

lmkg 13y ago
In the future, sure. At this very moment, no. The drones aren't good enough yet. The American military would rather take the conservative & expensive approach of developing a new traditional fighter until drones are good enough. I have no doubt that drones are the future (they are a truly 'disruptive' change, in the sense that they commoditize fighting power), but that future may still be 30 years away.
- Narkov 13y ago
  I see what you are saying however clearly these traditional "new" fighters aren't good enough either. I think everyone agrees that drones are the future so why not dump the $$$ into development?
  - mitchty 13y ago
    The answer is, they are, but we have aging airframes that need to be replaced now. That is basically the F22/F35 right now. The F15/16/18's won't last forever, and most early block number airframes won't survive the transition to drones. This is really no different than past fighter replacements. Like the F80->F86->F104->F4 etc... (i'm intentionally skipping planes). Actually the F4 is a great example of where the accepted "future of air combat" was proven wrong. As it turns out missiles weren't the best idea for the only armament on an aircraft. Drones may end up in the same category and we still want manned fighters, we might not yet want to go whole hog into as yet unproven territory.
vladich 13y ago
Are you talking about remotely controlled drones or self-sufficient robotic ones? Any remotely controlled drone deployed against technically advanced enemy is very vulnerable, so are you ready for SkyNet future?

4 ms·

I'm completely naive when it comes to this technology but surely drone technology is making all these piloted war machines redundant? Surely it must be easier/

by Narkov 13y ago

lmkg 13y ago
In the future, sure. At this very moment, no. The drones aren't good enough yet. The American military would rather take the conservative & expensive approach of developing a new traditional fighter until drones are good enough. I have no doubt that drones are the future (they are a truly 'disruptive' change, in the sense that they commoditize fighting power), but that future may still be 30 years away.
- Narkov 13y ago
  I see what you are saying however clearly these traditional "new" fighters aren't good enough either. I think everyone agrees that drones are the future so why not dump the $$$ into development?
  - mitchty 13y ago
    The answer is, they are, but we have aging airframes that need to be replaced now. That is basically the F22/F35 right now. The F15/16/18's won't last forever, and most early block number airframes won't survive the transition to drones. This is really no different than past fighter replacements. Like the F80->F86->F104->F4 etc... (i'm intentionally skipping planes). Actually the F4 is a great example of where the accepted "future of air combat" was proven wrong. As it turns out missiles weren't the best idea for the only armament on an aircraft. Drones may end up in the same category and we still want manned fighters, we might not yet want to go whole hog into as yet unproven territory.
vladich 13y ago
Are you talking about remotely controlled drones or self-sufficient robotic ones? Any remotely controlled drone deployed against technically advanced enemy is very vulnerable, so are you ready for SkyNet future?