"Do you like surprises, Ben?"
Are you an ace if you are sitting at the console and down five unmanned aircraft?
Years ago I had a strange, detailed dream about a UAV that was about the size of a ‘54 Buick and looked like a manta ray fish, complete with the long trailing “tail”.
It ran on a green gel which would serve as both fuel and explosive payload should the operators wish to use the craft like a cruise missile. There seemed to be something binary about that stuff and that it would remain inert in the tanks until a catalyst was added just as it was injected into the engines or just before it was to detonate.
The “Ray” was armed with a remotely directable select fire light machine gun mounted in it’s “mouth” for strafing or remote sniping, and used a vectored exhaust enabling it to hover, back up, and turn in place.
It had stealth capabilities and could fly at marginally subsonic speed below most radar, following terrain closely. It could easily fly down city streets and turn at intersections, going under overhead wires and crosswalks, and even entering buildings with garage - sized doors.
Guidance was from a satellite and the “tail” served as the antennae for both control reception and to transmit video feedback, intel, and data.
A chemical could be injected into the fuel so as to weaponize the exhaust gas, which in hover or slow flight mode would be vectored downwards onto anyone below.
Armored and built with light weight fabric, resin and ceramic composites, it is radio-opaque and nothing smaller than a .50 BMG could bring it down, and that only if hit in a critical component.
What I never could figure out though was why it was painted a bright yellow.
But then again it was only a dream.