Gentlemen,
Without providing much more analysis than "I think these Predators are neat," here's an excerpt taken from Robert D. Kaplan, "Hunting the Taliban in Las Vegas," in the Atlantic (September 2006): Requiring no life support for a pilot and no redundant safety systems, it [MQ-1B Predator drone] costs only $4.2 million: for the price of one F-22, you can build more than forty Predators... a Predator flies at 15,000 feet—almost three miles up—where no one on the ground can hear it or see it. Picture a satellite that does not need to remain in a fixed orbit, and is armed with two Hellfire missiles.
Yup, neat-oh.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
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2 comments:
Neat, yes. But it doesn't always work:
.. all you see is a guy walk into the courtyard at night to take a crap, registered by the heat signature picked up on the ground after he gets up from his squat.
Oh, well, beats the hell out of playing the one-armed bandits nearby. Hands down.
True AI. Very true. The enemy is as elusive even when foot soldiers are trying to determine who is the civilian and who is the combatant.
I doubt they'll ever phase out pilots and air jockeys, but it's nice to have a low-and-slow flying alternative (especially considering the price and that they are un-manned).
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