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Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

Posted August 04, 2007 6:29 PM

From Engadget:

While the idea of an autonomous flying military bot is far from new, the US Navy has taken a first step toward "developing an unmanned combat aircraft that some advocates say could compete with Lockheed Martin's F-35 joint strike fighter." Northrop Grumman was awarded a $636 million contract to design, build, and fly an Unmanned Combat Air System "that would operate from the decks of the Navy's giant nuclear-powered aircraft carriers," and if things goes as planned, we could see the gunners join our forces "within 10 to 15 years." And considering that we're already deploying land-based mechanical soldiers to fire our weapons, we'd say the full-fledged robotic army is certainly closing in.

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Guru
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#1

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/06/2007 8:57 AM

And then we could link them all together with a network called Sky-net!

-A-

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Guru
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#2
In reply to #1

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/06/2007 10:37 AM

Briliant! Hang on, gotta go...I'll be back...

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#3

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/06/2007 7:18 PM

A goal is that by 2015 every vehicle on an American battlefield will be a robot. Does that lower the threshold of going to war?

Bob

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Guru

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#4
In reply to #3

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/06/2007 8:41 PM

On the contrary. When all combat delivery systems are autonomous and unmanned, the politicians will have an eager finger on the trigger.

They would no longer be hesitant to open new wars, knowing they will only have to face the Congress and Senate for budgetary issues, rather than face every Joe-Blow and Mary-Ann, squirming to explain, why folks were sacrificed in the name of national security.

It will surely introduce new dimensions to international conflicts, in the sense that it turns those into an economic issue, and once engaged, it may mean money to one country, but lives to the other, re-shuffling the usually used terminology, and apologetics.

Boring, it will not be.

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Guru
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#5
In reply to #4

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/07/2007 2:42 AM

I have every confidence that before long some smart ass will have hacked into the onboard computer and made the robot do something...err..nasty?

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Guru
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#6

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/07/2007 8:25 AM

Don't you people see where all this is going?

We make robots. The enemy steels our technology. Robots fight robots. An absolute ban on human casualties. Mutually agreed upon battle fields. Miniaturization. Indoor robot tournaments deciding global politics.

Not to mention all the trickle down technology. Toy Soldiers. Cool.

-A-

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#7
In reply to #6

Re: Navy Gears up for Unmanned Combat Aircraft

08/07/2007 8:53 AM

Right up untill someone cheats, that is. Oh no! It's war, you can't cheat!

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