Tag Archives: UAV

Air Force to Field New Gorgon Stare

The Washington Post recently caught up to the announcement from last June that the US military was attempting to field UAVs with a multitude of cameras and sensors called the Gorgon Stare — named for the Greek mythological creature.

Of actual interest in the article is the technology the Air Force is using to help analysts sift through the vast amount of material produced by UAVs:

The Air Force…is working with Harris Corp. to adapt ESPN’s technique of tagging key moments in National Football League videotape to the war zone. Just as a sportscaster can call up a series of archived quarterback blitzes as soon as a player is sacked on the field, an analyst in Afghanistan can retrieve the last month’s worth of bombings in a particular stretch of road with the push of a button, officials said.

X-47B UCAV Preparing for First Flight

The Military Times reports the X-47B, designed to demonstrate the capabilities of an unmanned strike aircraft, is preparing to conduct its first flight. The test aircraft has been conducting taxi tests at Edwards AFB, CA.

Though it is currently two years behind schedule, if it is successful the experimental aircraft would ultimately represent the first time an armed UAV operated off a naval carrier.

It is unclear if the X-47B, or its progeny, are intended to be entirely autonomous or remotely piloted to some degree.

Air Force Mishaps Decline, UAVs Outstrip Others

The Air Force Times notes that aviation mishaps in the US Air Force fell for a second straight year:

Twenty-two major accidents occurred in fiscal 2010, compared with 30 in fiscal 2009. Seven airmen died in crashes, four more than the year before. The most accidents recorded were 2,274 in 1952. The deadliest year was also 1952, when 1,214 crew members and passengers died.

Perhaps more interesting is the comparison between manned and unmanned (or remotely piloted) aircraft:  Read more

Schwartz: Enlisted Won’t Fly UAVs

According to the Air Force Times, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Norton Schwartz has reiterated his position that only officers, not enlisted Airmen, will fly UAVs in the Air Force.

Tactical Army UAVs are flown by enlisted Soldiers, though Schwartz notes these are flown in short range, close in scenarios purely for mission support.

Currently, Air Force Predators are operated by an officer pilot and enlisted systems operator.

New Bomber on the Air Force Docket

Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz and Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley have reportedly called for a new bomber to be added to the fleet.  The goal would be for it to work in a variety of regimes (asymmetric to conventional to nuclear) and the aircraft would be “optionally manned.”

The Air Force currently relies on a very small number of B-2s, an ever-aging number of B-52s, and the B-1.

1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 14