December 24, 2007: The latest U.S.
Department of Defense policy on UAV development is, over the next 10-15 years, to
let the droids take over all the recon duties, some bombing missions, as well
as most SEAD (Suppressing Enemy Air Defenses). Recon is the most boring job for
combat pilots, and SEAD is the most dangerous. SEAD is done in the opening
stages of a campaign, in an effort to destroy the enemies anti-aircraft
capabilities. This is very dangerous stuff, and few officers are complaining
about turning it over to robots. UAVs are already doing a lot of recon work,
and an increasing number of bombing missions. So there does not appear to be
any problem in that department. But there will be no big effort to develop
robotic fighters. Unless some other country shows some success at it, in which
case the U.S. would have to jump in and maintain a competitive edge in this
area.
In about twenty years, the use of
robotic transports appears likely, and beyond that, robotic fighters are seen
as inevitable. Robotic long range bombers are seen as a precursor for long
range transports, and the current
success of the Global Hawk UAV, which is the size of a commuter airliner, is
seen as a model for larger bomber and transport UAVs in the near future.
