User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Manned Fighter To Face Autonomous Drone Next Year

  1. #1
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496571
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,581x in 94,413 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Manned Fighter To Face Autonomous Drone Next Year

    Manned Fighter To Face Autonomous Drone Next Year

    This will be an interesting experiment.

    The Air Force is hoping to pit an autonomous drone equipped with an artificial intelligence-driven flight control system against a fighter jet with a human pilot in a little over a year. The service has described this effort in the past as a "big moonshot" that could revolutionize air-to-air combat in ways that have so far been limited to the realm of fiction - at least as far as we know.
    Regardless, the general concept of a fully-autonomous unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) capable of air-to-air combat, as well as air-to-ground strikes, hold great potential to fundamentally change the character of aerial warfare, something The War Zonehas explored in great depth in the past. At its most basic, a UCAV would be able to perform many of the same functions as manned aircraft, but would be able to make key decisions faster and more accurately, taking into account much more information in a shorter period of time, without any concern about being distracted or confused by the general chaos of combat. They can also be networked into swarms that work cooperatively to maximize their combat effectiveness at any given time far beyond what a human-piloted formation could.

    The design of the drones themselves would be freed from parameters required to accommodate and protect a human pilot. Their planforms could be better optimized for aerial maneuvering and the pilotless aircraft could handle greater stresses during more aggressive flying than would be deemed too dangerous if a person was inside.


    The drones would also likely be cheaper to build and maintain than manned fighter jets and, networked together into swarms, might not have to perform all missions equally well. In an air-to-air scenario, some might carry a powerful radar or an infrared search and track (IRST) system or other sensors to spot and track threats, while others, acting as missile trucks, would then engage those targets.

    The Air Force, as well as other U.S. military services and foreign air forces, is already exploring how semi-autonomous "loyal wingman" drones might provide many of the same benefits when networked together with manned combat aircraft, something you can read about in these past War Zone stories. There are also separate efforts in progress to integrate similar AI-driven systems into manned aircraft themselves to help improve decision making and reduce pilot fatigue, among other benefits that you can find out more about in this previous War Zone piece.



    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  2. #2
    Points: 432,081, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 100.0%
    Achievements:
    50000 Experience PointsVeteranOverdriveSocial
    Awards:
    Frequent Poster
    Tahuyaman's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    307965
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Bremerton, Washington
    Posts
    183,422
    Points
    432,081
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    20,178
    Thanked 76,980x in 55,606 Posts
    Mentioned
    700 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    I would not be surprised if the manned fighter easily defeated the drone.

  3. #3
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496571
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,581x in 94,413 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Tahuyaman View Post
    I would not be surprised if the manned fighter easily defeated the drone.
    We'll see.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts