Wed, Jan 11, 2012
But Study Shows UAVs face Limits To Further Deployment
It's becoming harder and harder to be surprised by statistics on
the growing use of unmanned aircraft in warfare. Israel recently
announced that its UAVs now fly more flight hours than its manned
aircraft. Now, wired.com reports a Congressional study finds 31
percent of all military aircraft are drones.
The growing use of drones is even more dramatic among US forces.
The study was obtained by Danger Room, and counts 5,346 Ravens, and
a total of 7,494 drones of all types in use by the US, compared to
10,767 manned aircraft.
The airline industry is already scrambling for ways to train
enough pilots for the industry's needs in the future, as the
military steadily phases out manned aircraft. In 20 more years, we
may could ourselves watching the US Navy Blue Fire Scouts, or the
US Air Force Thunderbots.
But Danger Room notes there are also some vulnerabilities, not
mentioned in the report, which could slow the growth of the use of
drones. One is their susceptibility to cyberwarfare, as
demonstrated by a malware infection of drone cockpits at Creech Air
Force Base in Nevada. But the report does acknowledge bloat in the
cost of sensor packages, overlapping acquisitions, and bandwidth
limitations. The report notes that a single Global Hawk drone
requires 500 megabytes per second worth of bandwidth, or “500
percent of the total bandwidth of the entire U.S. military used
during the 1991 Gulf War.”
More News
Aero Linx: Model Aeronautical Association of Australia MAAA clubs are about fun flying, camaraderie and community. For over 75 years, the MAAA has been Australia’s largest fl>[...]
Touchdown Zone Lighting Two rows of transverse light bars located symmetrically about the runway centerline normally at 100 foot intervals. The basic system extends 3,000 feet alon>[...]
“Discovery and innovation are central to our mission at Virgin Galactic. We’re excited to build on our successful record of facilitating scientific experiments in subor>[...]
How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]
Student Pilot Reported That During Rotation, “All Of A Sudden The Back Of The Plane Kicked To The Right..." Analysis: The student pilot reported that during rotation, “>[...]