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As Military Touts Pilotless Aircraft, Top Guns Wish To Shoot Them Down
Wall Street Journal | April 29, 2002 | Anne Marie Squeo

Posted on 04/29/2002 9:08:53 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen

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1 posted on 04/29/2002 9:08:53 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
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To: Stand Watch Listen; Poohbah
Call me unconvinced on this program.

Stick with the proven manned aircraft.

2 posted on 04/29/2002 9:18:11 AM PDT by hchutch
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To: hchutch
Put them is simulatgors just like the airline pilots in their training regimen. It's not as cheap, but it will give the operator/pilots the real feel.
3 posted on 04/29/2002 9:22:58 AM PDT by Thebaddog
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To: Stand Watch Listen
Lot of joystick fighting going on by kids all over the world,Just think this will open up pilot type killing jobs with nerds that never would be able to become pilots but can play a mean joystick.
4 posted on 04/29/2002 9:25:47 AM PDT by Joe Boucher
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To: Stand Watch Listen
I can definitely see the use for the aircraft, but I find it hard to believe that the Air Force has F-16-trained pilots sitting in a simulator that could be flown by a 50-hour VFR pilot. That just doesn't make sense to me at all.

Hell, I have a Flight Simulator on the computer and I could do this.

Here's an interesting parting though: how about a Predator with a nuke strapped on it, send it right up SoDamn's a$$...that would be good. F the recon, use them as Kamakazi's.

I know they would likely be shot down, but it is an interesting thought

5 posted on 04/29/2002 9:27:06 AM PDT by mattdono
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To: hchutch
To add insult to injury, the accommodations for Predator operators on recent missions were nothing like the well-appointed barracks or hotels that normally await Air Force pilots in distant lands. Many of the Predator pilots who did 90-day tours in Afghanistan spent most of their time sleeping in a squat, one-story building crawling with spiders and mosquitoes, with beds just a few feet apart from each other. "I thought 'What have I gotten myself into?' " says Capt. Elissa Beddow, a 30-year-old who used to pilot cargo planes.

I see the problem. Give these aircraft to the real warriors instead of these spoiled brats.

As for "stick with tried and proven manned aircraft," you remind me of the Army general who, after Hitler's Panzer divisions had pretty much run roughshod over France, said that the US Army should stick with the tried and proven horse. Good thing we ignored him. If it hadn't been for World War II, we'd have developed an Interstate Bridle Path program instead of an Interstate Highway system.

Unmanned aircraft are coming, like it or not. With the level of smarts they will have by 2025, tactical pilots will be obsolete--not only will the aircraft be able to out-turn a human pilot, they will be able to out-think him as well.

6 posted on 04/29/2002 9:29:21 AM PDT by Poohbah
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To: mattdono
In other words, make a REALLY slow cruise missile.

What do you think a TLAM-N or ALCM is, anyway?

7 posted on 04/29/2002 9:30:25 AM PDT by Poohbah
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To: thud
Oh the poor babies, they can't be the organizational demi-gods anymore.

Being nintendo jocks in a run down mobile home trailer is below them.

Get used to it Fighter Pilot Mafia. The joys of 'ex-steel worker culture shock' are on your to do list.

8 posted on 04/29/2002 9:31:26 AM PDT by Dark Wing
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To: Stand Watch Listen
I can hear the mission brief now...

Alright dudes and dudettes, today we're going after the Iraqi SCUD launchers in sector 9 on your computer desktop map displays. Mission weather calls for clear skies, unlimited visibility and stiff winds of 270/10. A gust spread to 15 kts is predicted putting you right at startup limits. Station time at your terminals is 0900 with a 1000 launch time. Remember to climb and maintain your max service altitude of 5000 ft MSL and try and keep yourselves above your stall speed of 55 kts while engaging your targets. You should reach mission altitude 120 NM from takeoff, and just prior to reaching your IP. If you engage a SCUD that's on the move, break off your attack and select another SCUD that's stationary. No use wasting ordnance on a vehicle that can out run you.

Also, let's keep the web browsing down to a minimum during the 2 hour enroute time. I'm still sore from the ass reaming I got last month after that 3 aircraft midair you people had while you were busy downloading MP3 files of the latest Brittany Spears CD. Remember, we pay you to be combat joystickers, not geeky, slacker web surfers. Oh, and one other thing....watch where you lay your beverages! Yesterday, your former flight lead, Silverman, spilled his Mountain Dew all over his keyboard and damned near caused a fatal error catastrophe. He's been re-assigned to moniter air cargo drones with an obsolete IMac over Diego Garcia for the rest of the campaign.

Today, it gives me special pleasure to recognize our newest ace and flight lead for today's mission, Specialist Mary Ann Spleener, who downed her 5th Iraqi remote controlled stealth suicide hang glider drone in a pitched battle over Baghdad yesterday. I'm sure that Iraqi joysticker is cursing Allah over her trademark F10 keyboard entry and right click mouse maneuver that caused him to overcontrol during a wind gust and spin in. Now that's what I call combat keyboarding!

One last thing. You can expect heavy hacking attempts as you approach your target area. Remember to activate your system firewalls after takeoff and keep your secondary video display focused on your wingperson. Be prepared to take over your wingperson's portion of targets if their system crashes or loses telemetry.

Try and land your drones professionally today after the mission. No buzzing the SATCOM vans, PFC Jones! We have the SECDEF, Mr. Bill Gates, visiting the base today and providing us Windows 2010 upgrades for our systems. Remember to backup your mission files on disk prior to downloading the program. I'll expect your completed Power Point post mission briefs with streaming video e-mailed to me within one hour after landing. Now, let's go video control some laser energy on those SCUDS!

sigh...I'll miss those fighter jocks....

9 posted on 04/29/2002 9:32:49 AM PDT by TADSLOS
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To: Stand Watch Listen
What a waste of our precious resources. Put these guys and gals back in the cockpits and draft a bunch of kids with high scores from the local arcade. Make it a grand prize for the kid with the best national scores. "Dude, I just scored two years of free games and a place to crash. Plus I get to wear these cool BDU's. RADICAL."
10 posted on 04/29/2002 9:33:13 AM PDT by WilliamWallace1999
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To: Poohbah
Yeah...but it would be a lot easier to say that the Predator accidentally went "off track".

As far as the nuke, umm...ahh...must have been an overzealous Airman!

Your point is well-made. We should just get it over with and nuke his a$$.

11 posted on 04/29/2002 9:33:56 AM PDT by mattdono
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To: hchutch
"Stick with the proven manned aircraft."

Ya might as well resign yourself to it. The pilot is the limiting factor in today's fighter. Robots fighters will soon be faster, more agile, and more deadly than anything now flying.

12 posted on 04/29/2002 9:35:26 AM PDT by OBAFGKM
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To: WilliamWallace1999
Don't give the kids anything. Make them pay to play. They'll be lined up around the block. Charge them double if they want Hellfire missiles on their Predator.
13 posted on 04/29/2002 9:37:46 AM PDT by LarryLied
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To: Poohbah
"With the level of smarts they will have by 2025, tactical pilots will be obsolete--not only will the aircraft be able to out-turn a human pilot, they will be able to out-think him as well."

We'll see. I'm skeptical on the UAV concept as anything more than a supplement to our manned aircraft right now. And weren't the Spec Ops guys on horses in Afghanistan during this war?

14 posted on 04/29/2002 9:39:20 AM PDT by hchutch
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To: TADSLOS; Poohbah
This is hilarious!
15 posted on 04/29/2002 9:40:45 AM PDT by hchutch
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Comment #16 Removed by Moderator

Comment #17 Removed by Moderator

Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: Poohbah
Unmanned aircraft are coming, like it or not. With the level of smarts they will have by 2025, tactical pilots will be obsolete--not only will the aircraft be able to out-turn a human pilot, they will be able to out-think him as well.

As much as I hate to see it, being USAF retired, you're dead on. There was a time when warfare in Western Civilization was focused on a armored knight on a war horse similarly armored, but those days were ended by the longbow and gunpowder. Time marches on. Still, I think it will take a pilotless FIGHTER (not a toy prop job, like the Predator, either) shooting down one of our MANNED FIGHTERS to change the attitude of many.

19 posted on 04/29/2002 9:47:45 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: Stand Watch Listen
'What have I gotten myself into?' " says Capt. Elissa Beddow,

It's called the military Miss.

All you have to do to get out of it is resign your commision.
There are airlines just waiting for you to become available.
They'll pay you better, and put you up at the Howard Johnsons.

20 posted on 04/29/2002 9:48:23 AM PDT by ASA Vet
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