F-35Bs Grounded After One Catches Fire at Eglin AFB

TEOTWAWKI wrote:Sell em to Israel....

2seaoat wrote:If the last two wars has taught us anything it is we no longer need new fighter jets or new fighter pilots.

Gosh.....I never served.....but can I tell you something.....you are clueless if you think we do not need fighter jets and pilots....you are mostly right on your other observations, but this sounds like a little jealousy.....kinda like talking about how woman are worthless in combat positions because they cannot lift as much weight as a man........yet at the same time arguing that remarkable technological changes are evolving very fast......do you think a 120 lb woman can arm one of those drones?

alecto wrote:If the last two wars has taught us anything it is we no longer need new fighter jets or new fighter pilots. Drones rule the sky at a fraction of the cost. They are cheap to manufacturer, can carry a wide array of weaponry, highly maneuverable, deadly accurate, and they can be launched from anywhere, no special equipment needed, no need for massive aircraft carriers. Not to mention the human factor. We can finally get rid of the pre-maddonna, holier than thou, I'm gods gift to the planet pilot. No more extensive and extremely costly pilot training, no more loss of life due to human error. With the technology available today and the rapid development of drone technology hopefully one day we can completely remove the human from the cockpit in the military.

2seaoat wrote:Gee....why did we keep our second strike capability in subs, b52s, and missles.........if the missles were so good.....why the duplicity? The answer is pretty obvious to those who have a clue. You see the Chinese have bragged that they could bring down our Satellites......so that pimply kid running that joy stick in Nevada.....exactly how is he going to get that information to a drone launched somewhere in SE Asia. You see folks like you that claim you have a clue built the Maginot line with the best technology of the time......but if you underestimate your enemies ability to compromise your assets....you lose. We need older technology, and a blend of new and old. There have been rumors on what some of those giant in the ground communications devices are in the northern woods of Mn Wi, and Mi........and maybe we have a failsafe system to communicate with our drones.....but when folks in Iran get one of our drones.....are you going to put all your eggs in one basket? Nope....I have a clue.....and I was generous....I shared it with you.

alecto wrote:If the last two wars has taught us anything it is we no longer need new fighter jets or new fighter pilots. Drones rule the sky at a fraction of the cost. They are cheap to manufacturer, can carry a wide array of weaponry, highly maneuverable, deadly accurate, and they can be launched from anywhere, no special equipment needed, no need for massive aircraft carriers. Not to mention the human factor. We can finally get rid of the pre-maddonna, holier than thou, I'm gods gift to the planet pilot. No more extensive and extremely costly pilot training, no more loss of life due to human error. With the technology available today and the rapid development of drone technology hopefully one day we can completely remove the human from the cockpit in the military.

2seaoat wrote:Chinks and bringing down our satellites, please see XB-47.


What exactly am I suppose to see. That most of our smart weapons depend on GPS......that the Iranians allegedly took over one of our foolproof drones and flew it into Iran to further study.....that there are 100s of vulnerabilites, and all it takes is a back door, and we could have our weapons which we developed turned around after all are launched and attack the good guys.....assume nothing, and do not put all your eggs in one basket......but heck, I am the one who is suppose to be clueless, yet some folks want to get rid of pilots......some....sure.....but bone chilling stupid to underestimate your enemies.....my server gets ip hits from China daily......and where are most of our electronics made today.......no I love technology, and believe these weapon systems will be a huge asset, but this idea that pilots are going to be replaced with all the obvious vulnerabilities.....nope.....not today, or the next thirty years.

PACEDOG#1 wrote:

alecto wrote:If the last two wars has taught us anything it is we no longer need new fighter jets or new fighter pilots. Drones rule the sky at a fraction of the cost. They are cheap to manufacturer, can carry a wide array of weaponry, highly maneuverable, deadly accurate, and they can be launched from anywhere, no special equipment needed, no need for massive aircraft carriers. Not to mention the human factor. We can finally get rid of the pre-maddonna, holier than thou, I'm gods gift to the planet pilot. No more extensive and extremely costly pilot training, no more loss of life due to human error. With the technology available today and the rapid development of drone technology hopefully one day we can completely remove the human from the cockpit in the military.

You lack a lot of knowledge in regards to penetrating enemy airspace and such. Drones are not capable of SEAD required to let the big guns come in and knock out the required hard targets and SAM that will operate with impunity if needed. Drones are ISR assets. Do you know what ISR really is? It is NOT stratetic bombing. It is not SEAD. You need to do a little homework, OK>

alecto wrote:

PACEDOG#1 wrote:

alecto wrote:If the last two wars has taught us anything it is we no longer need new fighter jets or new fighter pilots. Drones rule the sky at a fraction of the cost. They are cheap to manufacturer, can carry a wide array of weaponry, highly maneuverable, deadly accurate, and they can be launched from anywhere, no special equipment needed, no need for massive aircraft carriers. Not to mention the human factor. We can finally get rid of the pre-maddonna, holier than thou, I'm gods gift to the planet pilot. No more extensive and extremely costly pilot training, no more loss of life due to human error. With the technology available today and the rapid development of drone technology hopefully one day we can completely remove the human from the cockpit in the military.

You lack a lot of knowledge in regards to penetrating enemy airspace and such. Drones are not capable of SEAD required to let the big guns come in and knock out the required hard targets and SAM that will operate with impunity if needed. Drones are ISR assets. Do you know what ISR really is? It is NOT stratetic bombing. It is not SEAD. You need to do a little homework, OK>

You are correct. Right now UAV do not perform a SEAD role or EW roles. You don't think they can't or that someone hasn't proposed the idea. No one ever thought there would be a need for mid air refueling for UAV's either but guess what they have been testing that for a while now. Why because it is another step forward for UAV missions and capabilities.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/darpa-completes-autonomous-high-altitude-refuelling-tests-377447/

Are you referring to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance? Are you saying that is the only role drones (A.K.A. UAV's) perform is ISR missions? Really don't think drones killing terrorist falls into the ISR category.

Look, all I'm saying is drones are the future, the technology is advancing rapidly and the roles are being expanded. We may never take the pilot out of the cockpit, who knows. But the possibility exist and the technology is moving that direction.

2seaoat wrote:Seaoat, you're not even on the same page with me in regards to this.

You are most certainly correct that I am not on the same page.....actually, I do not even want to be in the same book, and certainly I would be cautious about some of your sources, but answer this simple question without worrying about Goldilocks and the three bears and what page you stopped reading last night..........did the Iranians get possession of one of our drones....was not the allegation that they took control of the drone......is it not correct that they landed it complete and not harmed.....is it not correct that most of our drones have an automatic destroy command.......and how could this not have been executed if the drone was not compromised......

Forget the pages.....forget your silly nomenclature which rarely is relevant....stick to your understanding of the vulnerabilities of this weapon platform......if this is a security clearance thing, say so, but to avoid a substantive discussion by changing the subject and throwing irrelevant nomenclature around....does not answer the core question. Try it.

alecto wrote:
Are you referring to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance? Are you saying that is the only role drones (A.K.A. UAV's) perform is ISR missions? Really don't think drones killing terrorist falls into the ISR category.

Look, all I'm saying is drones are the future, the technology is advancing rapidly and the roles are being expanded. We may never take the pilot out of the cockpit, who knows. But the possibility exist and the technology is moving that direction.