The Next Lightweight Fighter: Not Your Grandfather's Combat Aircraft
Abstract
A casual survey of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) would show that various countries have pursued a dizzying variety of such possible weapons systems, starting in World War I and continuing today. Reconnaissance variants have a long and effective history, but no autonomous UCAV is close to becoming opera tional. The value of these aircraft remains a subject of much debate, and although UCAVs clearly are not ready to replace manned strike aircraft, the exact role they will fulfill is less clear. Almost any discussion of the subject treats them as aircraft that happen to have a combat role. Although technically correct, this view misses the larger picture. UCAVs are nothing of the sort; rather, they are combat aircraft that happen to fly without aircrews on board. As such, UCAVs may represent a partial solution to the increasing expense and dwindling numbers of modern fighter aircraft in service of the United States.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA618992
Entities
People
- Michael W. Pietrucha
Organizations
- Air University