Tag Archives: UAV

AT-6C Drops Laser Guided Bombs in Arizona

The AT-6C, a modified version of the T-6 currently used to train US Air Force and Navy pilots, has reportedly been used to deliver LGBs out of Tucson, Arizona.  The Air Force Reserve Command Test Center has been testing the AT-6C, which is explicitly not an in-development weapons acquisition program.

Though light attack is not an Air Force procurement program, AATC’s task is to report its findings to senior leaders early next year to help refine requirements…

As if to prove the point, the aircraft has a civilian N-number, rather than a military designation:

There aren’t too many civilian aircraft in the world equipped to Read more

General: UAV Pilots will Outnumber All Others

General Edward Rice, commander of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, has made (the foreseeable) statement that UAV pilots will someday outnumber all other pilots in the Air Force.

Of course, the birth of the nuclear age foretold the end of the fighter pilot era, and the demise of the dedicated close air support aircraft has been predicted (and proven false) repeatedly.  The future is anything but entirely certain.

Commercial Pilot Jobs to Takeoff?

The US military pays certain career fields “bonuses” and other incentive pays for a fairly simple reason:  to keep people in the military who would otherwise make far more money outside of it.  Some have complained, then, when the economy turns:  For example, when the airline industry took a dive, some questioned what reason there could be for giving military pilots incentive pay.

The Air Force Times claims the “commercial pilot job market” is now set “for a boom,” however.

After nearly a four-year drought of openings, airlines are predicting they will hire more pilots in the next decade than they ever have. Aircraft maker Boeing forecasts a need for 466,650 more commercial pilots by 2029 — an average of 23,300 a year.

They also noted that changes in the Air Force culture may affect Read more

Report: Single Keystroke Almost Destroys UAV

In a bit of sensationalist headlining, a few news articles noted the Defense Department report blasting the acquisition program of the Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter.

According to a June 24 report from the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, the critical error came when the drone’s operator accidentally pressed the spacebar with a wire from his headset — launching the self-destruct mechanism on the vehicle.

As the articles later note, there’s no such thing as a single-button Read more

Air Force vs Naval Academy: Best for Becoming a Fighter Pilot

One question asked repeatedly is whether it’s better to go Air Force or Navy if one wants to fly or be a fighter pilot.  The FAQ of this site answers this question (as well as many others), but there’s interesting and relevant information from the graduation of the class of 2011 that just occurred.

USNA:
Class Size:  1035
Pilot Training (incl. “Marine Air”): 305 (30%)
Naval Flight Officer: 75 (7%)

USAFA:
Class Size:  1021  Read more

US Army’s Gray Eagle Gets Hellfire

The US Army proudly announced its MQ-1C Gray Eagle had successfully employed a Hellfire missile in Iraq.

Of course, the Army’s Gray Eagle is essentially the same aircraft as the Air Force’s Predator, which has been armed for some time.

The article notes some of the differences between Air Force and Army operations:

The Air Force’s Predator drones are flown by officers who are usually located back in the USA and connected to the airframes by satellite link. But flying the Army’s Gray Eagle is an enlisted soldier’s affair, done in theater and close to the ground troops that the airframe serves.

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