Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Unmanned Combat Planes Are 'Smarter,' But Finger on the Trigger Is Human

"The Drive to develop pilotless aircraft that can replace manned planes on the most dangerous, or the tedious, combat missions has produced some important technological advances. However, while they may be unmanned, the authority for them to release weapons is likely to remain in human hands.

In mid-April, an unmanned Y-shaped jet built by Boeing dropped a 250-pound smart bomb that came within feet of its target at the Edwards Air Force Base range in California.

A year earlier, a kite-like robot produced by Northrop Grumman flew a precision approach and touched down for what would have been a four-wire trap on a simulated carrier deck at Naval Air Weapons Center in China Lake, Calif.

The two unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) that performed maneuvers normally requiring highly trained pilots are the early products of an ambitious program called the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS), directed by the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA). "

Continue reading Unmanned Combat Planes Are 'Smarter,' But Finger on the Trigger Is Human.

Posted by Darren at August 4, 2004 12:16 PM | More from UAV News |