DARPA buys 3 Boeing X-45C

None of the above...

I was thinking of the US football team

but I do like the F-15

Can these puppies dog fight?

How are they against hunter missiles?


Does this mean that part/some of future warefare will be fought on computers?

Are these autonomous?

I know they are no stupid questions, just stupid people

I really would appreciate any comments please

[edit on 15-10-2004 by zurvan]

The first thing I thought of was MBF's same comment on page 1. I don't think you can mind the price when you know that you are only jeapordizing and aircraft in battle and not a human life.

Playing Devil's advocate, I know the price seems high, but whats another starving family when you can spend our money on military technology that we really don't need?

Back to reality, I'm not going to object to costs that push our technology towards unmanned arsenals. I would prefer they spend the money investing in these type of aircraft and weapons to insure that the corporations developing them continue to move in this direction. Yes of course, rather their lives than ours.

it is good to see that the weekest link in a fighter jet has been eliminated?

Originally posted by zurvan
Can these puppies dog fight?

Not in the true sense of the word. No guns and no pilots on the raft make such manuevering unlikely. They probably will have A2A missles to fight other aircraft at distance though...

How are they against hunter missiles?

I assume you mean some type of guided missle. Well, they are supposed to be stealthy, so in theory, they will be a tough target.

Does this mean that part/some of future warefare will be fought on computers?

Well, electronic warfare has been around for a while in the sense that electronics are disrupted. But if you ean wil haker computer geeks be the super weapon of the future, don't bet on it.

Are these autonomous?

They are piloted remotly by an operator away from the aircraft. In theory, you can select a flight path and with a few clicks of the mouse it would fly it's mission and land it's self, but you always want a human in the loop.

If you'd like to know more about this aircraft, heck out this old thread I made on it.

X-45 UCAV

Originally posted by American Mad Man

Originally posted by zurvan
Can these puppies dog fight?

I assume you mean some type of guided missle. Well, they are supposed to be stealthy, so in theory, they will be a tough target.

Does this mean that part/some of future warefare will be fought on computers?

Well, electronic warfare has been around for a while in the sense that electronics are disrupted. But if you ean wil haker computer geeks be the super weapon of the future, don't bet on it.

Are these autonomous?

They are piloted remotly by an operator away from the aircraft. In theory, you can select a flight path and with a few clicks of the mouse it would fly it's mission and land it's self, but you always want a human in the loop.

What I meant was what happens when a fast interceptor locks on one?

I mean the interceptor will be fully automated and hence the defence needs to be automated too. Human response is too slow for a computer.


and as such these attack and defense mechanisms need to be coded in, to take over in case of emergency. that is what I meant by future air wars would be fought by computer programs/programmers?

make sense?

[edit on 15-10-2004 by zurvan]

survan
What I meant was what happens when a fast interceptor locks on one?

Well they wont outrun anything at mach .8, but thats why there stealth, so there wont be a lock on.

BTW, your thinking in terms of a fighter, this is just a bomber, it isn't being made into a fighter jet.