"Killer Zombie" drones

[Bluehawk]

That isn't their real name, but it says something about what they can do.

Source link:
Air Force's New 'Killer Zombie' Drone | Danger Room from Wired.com
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Armed Predator and Reaper drones have become the primary weapons in the fight against Pakistani militants. But they can be pricey; the Reapers come in at around a hundred million dollars each. Which is why the Air Force is working on a cheaper option: killer zombies.

Visit Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, and you'll see rows upon of obsolete F-4 Phantom II aircraft – or at least their gutted carcasses. This is the Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center or AMARC -- whatever you do, don't call it the Boneyard. For many years, it has been common practice to resurrect these deceased planes as QF-4 unmanned drones, so that they can have a brief and undignified existence as "full-scale aerial targets." Everything in the inventory -- from Sidewinder missiles to Patriots -- have been tested on one at some point, even though some find it "kind of hard to shoot at such a magnificent aircraft."

Some 230 Phantoms have been through this resurrection process since 1995. It costs about $800,000 U.S. per aircraft. The tail and wingtips are painted orange to they can be easily distinguished from manned aircraft. Typically they are flown several times. Not all tests need to end in the plane being shot down, and there is an onboard scoring system to determine how close a warhead came. Up to six QF-4s can be flow together remotely by computer, maintaining tight formation using GPS. (Hey, how about a robotic version of the Blue Angels?)

But earlier this year, the zombie fleet got a new twist (see photo): one of them fired a modified High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile.

"This is the first air-to-ground missile fired off an unmanned full-scale aerial target," said Major Markle. "This test is an important part of the Det. 1 mission because it increases survivability of our Airmen going against (surface-to-air missile) threats. Furthermore, it's the first time the drone has been able to shoot back.

… "With this successful test, we have pioneered a new venue to test forward-firing ordnance without risk to valuable air assets or crew members," said Lt. Col. Joel Rush, Det. 1's commander.

The High Speed Anti-radiation Missile, or HARM, locks on to the radar guidance of surface-to-air missiles. The QF-4 mission was simply to test the missile. When you're working with a new experimental high-powered rocket motor, it makes sense to keep humans as far away as possible. (Aircraft missile testing is a hazardous business – some may be familiar with Pete Purvis' account of shooting himself down with a Sparrow missile.)

Could this become more than a mere experiment. Well, the idea of attacking enemy air defenses with a drone seems like a life-saver. Doing it with a QF-4 drone sounds like a money-saver, too.

Those HARM missiles cost over $300,000 each. If you have four of them on a QF-4, the whole package comes out to $2 million or so. That's a small fraction of a Reaper's price tag.

So maybe the undead QF-4 should get its revenge on the living and get to fire some missiles itself for a change. Let's hear it for the new Phantom Menace…

[john mclaughlin]

Is it possible that I could part time fly drones after work like a part time job?I could run the program online on my sons ps3,and be hitting targets in pakistan real time!Think of it as outsourcing.

[Bluehawk]

Originally Posted by john mclaughlin

Is it possible that I could part time fly drones after work like a part time job?I could run the program online on my sons ps3,and be hitting targets in pakistan real time!Think of it as outsourcing.

If you are good at video games, and can fly motorized model planes, then you are wanted out there in the Nevada desert! You can kill and blow up stuff in OIF OEF, from a distance!

[john mclaughlin]

I need to do it from here though,responsibilities ya know.But i can do it,i have yet to meet anything i cant master.