F-22 Problems

So why can't they have the air intake for the oxygen system somewhere else? Seems like it would take a very thin pipe and that should be easy to place pretty much anywhere. Either that, or figure out what the real problem is with the existing system, and fix it.

 

Many jet pilots will insist that there is no way to replace the human mind, but I think that you are right. Fighter pilots will, like chess players, eventually be outclassed by artificial intelligence. The fact that a drone isn't limited to 10g turns will only accelerate the process.

 

Well, we aren't removing the human mind completely. We are allowing automated systems to do a lot of the "housekeeping" and obvious decision-making that would occupy the pilot's mind, and we are simply placing the pilot outside the cockpit, far away from the action, where he can survey the whole battlefield, and have a whole lot more tools at his disposal, and a much less stressful environment to operate in.

Yup, lower costs, higher performance and acceptable loss rates are the main reason for switching to drones.

Pilots fatigue, have finite attention spans, limited g-force envelopes, degrading decision-making skills under stress/fog of war, etc. Drones are only limited by fuel and technology, and both are already beyond human capabilities, and continue to advance.

It costs over a million to train one pilot, and LOTS of time. We do not want to lose this investment. Sitting them down in Henderson, NV to target people in Sanaa, Yemen or Waziristan works much better.

We can easily afford to lose 10,000 drones. We can't afford to lose even 1,000 pilots. Nor do we need to mount expensive and risky rescue missions if a drone goes down. Heck, we can booby trap them and take out even more of the talitubbies, I mean, enemy.

I think the day is approaching when Pakistan and Yemen will have "cloudy" forecasts due to all the drones overhead. Too bad some areas of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Egypt aren't feeling the same dread. ********* clerics don't need to be reasoned with, they just need some barbecuing!

What happens when one of our own politicians turns rogue, though? Do we take him out? What if he controls the drones? I hope we have the right checks and balances in place to prevent this from ever happening, or we are all going to end up hiding underground.

 

Keep in mind, I'm not saying that there should not be a pilot, I am merely saying that the pilot does not need to be inside the airframe. Most drones are flown by a pilot, the pilot is simply not inside the plane.

Terry