UCAVs - Air to Air Capability

When you are talking about UCAVs, you are forgeting one thing that could limit their use - lack of radio/satellite frequencies. Already in Iraq not as many UAVs have been used as wanted, simply because the frequenciies were all full. If the UCAVs should be effective in larger numbers there is a need for more advanced AI. The future UCAVs cannot rely on operators, they need to decide and act by themselves.

A.I UCAVs are a great way to go in the future but robots are so stupid right now that anything besides a pre programed flight course is just not able to be done. Robots right now are like lobotomized insects not what I would call the right stuff. But with the way computers are advancing In say 50 years they might be alot smarter then us.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
A.I UCAVs are a great way to go in the future but robots are so stupid right now that anything besides a pre programed flight course is just not able to be done. Robots right now are like lobotomized insects not what I would call the right stuff. But with the way computers are advancing In say 50 years they might be alot smarter then us.

There are already today things like neuron networks (don't know if it is proper in English) that are not programmed, but they are teaching on their own faults. They are able to make their own decisions based on previous experiences - they are similar to human brains. Currently they are used by military in strategical wargames, and one general stated : "There is only one problem with these networks. After 2 or 3 battles they are simply unbeatable, so we must reset them."

Originally posted by longbow
When you are talking about UCAVs, you are forgeting one thing that could limit their use - lack of radio/satellite frequencies. Already in Iraq not as many UAVs have been used as wanted, simply because the frequenciies were all full. If the UCAVs should be effective in larger numbers there is a need for more advanced AI. The future UCAVs cannot rely on operators, they need to decide and act by themselves.

You are correct--one of the biggest challenges the military is facing today is running out of bandwidth. Both the military and civilian sectors have become so reliant on devices like cell phones, GPS receivers, satellite imagery, and other electronic signals that we're running out of space in the electromagnetic spectrum to broadcast all this information. The ability to make unmanned aircraft and weapons autonomous is a major area of research today.

Originally posted by aerospaceweb
The ability to make unmanned aircraft and weapons autonomous is a major area of research today.

I don't like the idea of letting a robot decide when it can open fire. A person should decide when to fire. We may end up with a Terminator like scenario.

Im sure the goverment has done some amazing things with AI but I bet that these computers take up entire rooms of computers no where near the size of fitting in a UCAV. The human brain makes more calculations then if you hooked up most of the computers on the planet together would be able to do. But computer power is increasing astronomically faster than the human brain so In the not too distant future the will rival and surpase us.

Originally posted by Hyperen
I don't like the idea of letting a robot decide when it can open fire. A person should decide when to fire. We may end up with a Terminator like scenario.

I doubt you will be able to get the human out of the loop anytime soon. Its no coincidence that the armed forces have expressed interest in video games. The future airman may be the couch potatoe who excells at video games. With the network enabled games the military can keep track of the high scores and target people for recruitment.

Yea Im waiting for a Airforce version of the American Army video game where you pilot and Predator or other UCAV.

The military had a problem of bandwidth in the first gulf war but not as much in Iraqi freedom due in part to a new type of connection it was using this laser connection that could hold more info at one time than any thing else that's all I know anyone got more info about this?

Originally posted by FredT

Originally posted by Hyperen
I don't like the idea of letting a robot decide when it can open fire. A person should decide when to fire. We may end up with a Terminator like scenario.

I doubt you will be able to get the human out of the loop anytime soon.

In the short term, you are probably right. However, you'd probably be surprised how many new missiles are coming down the pipeline that already have a high level of autonomy. The next generation of guided weapons will be given instructions on the type(s) of target(s) to search for in a given area and will then seek out and attack these targets on their own. Early forms of the technology are already being tested on LOCAAS and AARGM, for example.

www.fas.org...

www.globalsecurity.org...