Drones · 6:48pm Jan 17th, 2015
Drone: \ˈdrōn\
as a verb
1. to make a low humming sound
as a noun
1. a stingless male bee that has the role of mating with the queen and does not gather nectar or pollen
2. an unmanned vehicle
3. this, apparently:
Drones have become a thing as of late, but remote controlled vehicles have existed almost as long as human-piloted ones. Cruise missiles were first developed in World War II. The term “drone” was used by the US Air Force at least as early as 1972.
Taking people out of the picture has long been the objective of drones. Without a person aboard, they can be smaller, cheaper, and need not be as safe (which also makes them cheaper.)
Despite the cheap objective, the military is the chief operator of the really large, complicated drones because the military has a lot of money. As with many things, this kind of expensive R&D is beginning to filter down into affordable products for the common man. Today, you can buy a camera drone that will follow you around automatically to record you doing stuff.
Not so far fetched.
But you probably expected this blog to focus on the military and surveillance aspect, so let’s press on with that, shall we?
If you’re a terrorist, what do you fear most? Getting shot? Nobody caring about your message? What if a robot shoots you - that’s kind of both at once.
The term “robot” brings up an interesting turn of phrase. A robot is device, usually electromechanical, that does things in place of a human. That’s pretty much a perfect definition of this kind of drone. To make things a little more clear-cut, I’m prefer the term unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to denote the kind of robot planes we’re talking about. I feel that it’s a little more specific than “drone.”
UAV’s were primarily invented for a surveillance role. They still spend much more time looking than they do shooting. You don’t send a UAV to hit a preplanned target, or at least not yet. Very few drones have the kind of performance to carry heavy enough loads to do more than wait and watch until it’s time to take out a target of opportunity.
With every breath you take, every move you make, they'll be watching you...
But they’re getting better in the weapons department. It is claimed that the first armed drone was an Iranian model in the late 1980’s that carried RPG rounds. Of course, it depends on what your definition of "armed drone" is. Israel has a propeller-powered plane that is designed to attack radars by crashing into them. Does that make it a drone or a missile? Personally, I believe that if it's designed to be reused, it's a drone. Sometimes an armed drone is called a unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV.)
The rise of drones doing strikes has presented a problem of laws and ethics. It’s easier to deny that a remote control plane went where it wasn’t supposed to than it is to deny a full sized combat plane. Not only that, but taking the human out of the loop seems less honorable to some people. The drone pilot isn’t risking their own life to kill other people – it’s something that is new to warfare. Not to mention if/when we ever get fully autonomous drones online. Then who’s responsible when the robot decides to kill someone?
Innocent civilian casualties are mentioned quite often in conjunction with drones. The drone pilot got the target wrong. But would a person being there have changed anything?
Drone cameras are sometimes better than those on combat jets, and drones typically fly lower to take better pictures. A human flying a jet instead of piloting a drone through a satellite might actually have a worse overview of the situation. Then again, maybe the drone pilot decided to pull the trigger because being so far away made killing a person seem less real.
Now let’s cover an overview of different types of drones. They can be divided into two rough categories: satellite control and not.
Things like the ScanEagle are some of the smallest drones. They can be operated by a small team and are small. Most can’t be operated past line of sight from the controllers, typically less than one hundred miles. Despite this, some of them still have impressive endurance. They can be useful for patrolling around the immediate area.
ScanEagle launching from a ship. A complete system to operate it, plus four airframes, is $3.2 million. It can stay up for 20 hours.
The MQ-1 Predator is probably the most well known drone in the world. Operated chiefly by the USAF and CIA, it’s been around a while.
MQ-1. One aircraft costs $4 million. The bulbous nose is where the satellite dish is located. It, too, can stay aloft for 20 hours.
The Predator and drones in its class sometimes carry weapons. They fly at medium altitudes and offer all-around performance of economy, surveillance, and attack. They can also fly literally on the other side of the planet from the pilot thanks to satellites.
There are some drones bigger than Preds. The Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawk and its Navy derivative BAMS-D can fly at 60,000 feet and go far enough to cross oceans, filling a more strategic, long range role.
RQ-4. Bigger than you might think. $131 million a pop.
As I said earlier, there aren’t any strategic bomber drones, or at least not yet. Some fighter jets have been converted to remote control, but they are limited in number and were not purpose-built to be unmanned. Likely the first true UCAV will be the X-47B, a carrier-capable drone the Navy is working on.
X-47B. No price tag yet, but the total cost of research and development plus building two airframes is $813 million. Fun fact: the X-47B's predecessor, the smaller X-47A, was called the Pegasus.
Due to the lag between cameras and controls, it can be difficult to control a drone during maneuvers like landings and takeoffs. Trying to land a remote control plane on a moving aircraft carrier in high seas and winds would be terrible. When drone combat becomes more advanced, such as when we start doing something more intense than bombing brown people, reaction time could make a huge difference. More autonomy and letting the drone think for itself could become the norm.
Which cycles us right back to ethics. That, and Skynet.
Drones are bad for terrorists, but against an actual military, even a third-world one, drones are not much of a threat. They’re too slow and too lightly armed, not to mention the reaction time problem.
In 2002, a Predator armed with Stinger missiles tried to fight an Iraqi MiG-25 and lost badly. Manned aircraft have shot down a number of drones, but as far as I know, this is the only time a drone tried to fight back. The Stinger is a short range heat-seeking missile. Outfitting a UAV with the radar and systems needed to successfully engage an aircraft would make it quite a bit bigger, more complicated, and expensive.
However, that doesn’t mean they can’t carry the weapons. If you pair a UCAV with a manned aircraft, the drone could shoot stuff that is targeted by the other plane. An article I read quoted an Air Force Colonel using the term “missile caddy,” and used the example of a Navy E-2 Hawkeye early warning plane controlling an X-47B. Pushing the drone out ahead could extend weapons range while keeping pilots out of danger.
But building systems so complicated – is it worth the price? The military runs on money. Manned aircraft are going to be around as long as they are more practical than drones.
Yes, there is a lot of drone-y artwork out there.
Despite disadvantages, drones are here to stay. They’re cheaper and risk fewer pilots. They can offer higher performance because you don’t have to take into account life support systems or a human body that can only stand so many G’s.
Due to the inevitable replacement of manned aircraft by drones, some people speculate that the last fighter pilot has already been born. I doubt that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our front line combat aircraft are mostly unmanned by, say, 2060.
So it leads to the obvious question: what’s the equine equivalent of unmanned?
Interesting blog post. do you think you can do one about the evolution of the battleships from the ship of the line to the modern battleship?
Very well written.
As to your question, unbridled?
I am not sure how comfortable I feel about those pictures...
Also, not changelings for pun. Disappointing.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/A_U.S._Navy_X-47B_Unmanned_Combat_Air_System_makes_an_arrested_landing_aboard_the_aircraft_carrier_USS_George_H.W._Bush_%28CVN_77%29_as_the_ship_conducts_flight_operations_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean_off_the_coast_of_Vir_130710-N-LE576-002.jpg/1024px-thumbnail.jpg
Now that's just awesome looking.
Ouch. Not really inaccurate, but ouch.
Unponned, maybe? Unponied sounds weird.
the X-47B looks like a B2
All those drone ponies remind me of Admiral Tigerclaw's OC Dainty Dish
2729217 That's a fully ponified example. Go on Derpibooru and search Plane Ponies to get examples halfway along.
2729232 I know. They straddle the line between adorable and unsettling.
Unequined.
Disequined.
Equineless.
I dunno, just make shit up till it works. That's how you write fiction anyhow.
reactiongifs.com/r/dnno.gif
Mechanical Equine.
From what I've seen with these drones and Drones/Ponies artwork, it would be cool if Equestria's first robot was made by Twilight herself.
I disagree with your assessment of UAVs as being necessarily reusable, though my sole reason may simply be the exception that proves the rule. The AeroVironment Switchblade is a man-portable "kamikaze drone" that weighs 6 pounds and is 2 feet long inside its case/launcher, has 10 minutes of endurance, 10km operating range, and carries an explosive equivalent to that of a 40mm grenade.
The Switchblade itself is a good example of drones changing the way we fight, because it's relatively cheap and gives an infantry unit precise, long-range explosive firepower. CAS takes time to arrive and carries risks of collateral damage, arty isn't always available, and guided missiles are heavy and expensive.
2729093 Looks like a smaller version of the B2 Stealth
Very informative TNAB so how come you know so much about drones?
Have you seen this South park episode?
~Leonzilla
Pilots are going to be here to stay. You cannot fully replicate the human ability to perform with a computer despite what many believe, regardless of their ability to beat us in chess and a very restricted version of poker.
War and conflict is very, very chaotic. Circumstances change by the second and opportunities number in the hundreds by the moment. A computer can calculate and figure these all out but there is no way for them to pick a best option because there is no best option.
War is just too organic to make it automated. And because of this, Fighter Jet Pilots will always exist. Now, will mechanical assistance become more prevalent? You bet your fucking ass it will. Biggest one I can imagine is drone missiles, piloted in a two seater jet, or from an FOAB while the jet is in the air.
No doubt drones are scary... but those pony-drones are just downright creepy. Remind me of Warhammer 40K servitors a little too much for some reason. Even creepier because I still want to cuddle with them for some reason.
Still, one idea that keeps with me is similar to the idea other manned aircraft could direct drones in the air. In a little bit of sci-fi world building I imagine such a manned fighter leading a squadron of semi autonomous drone fighters, crying extra missiles and shorter range weapons not to necessarily hit a target but to limit it's manoeuvrability for the pilot to take the kill. Would also be programmed to take hits for the pilot if ever in that sort of danger. However such a feet would take some masterful programming and drones with a lot more spacial awareness then they currently poses.
Also, couldn't drones be used for point defence? In conjunction with a ships radar and threat detection systems I imagine it could be a degree more effective then current close in weapon systems.
As for the pony version of unmanned? How about unstalionned or unmared?
Also, for that question, I thought it was simply unequined.
Horseless. The ML-9 "Cart" horseless air carriage is the remote controlled weapone of choice for the Royal Equestrian Air Force.
img0.derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/3/11/267796__safe_oc_oc+only_original+species_plane+ponies_predator+drone.png (MQ? Eh, close enough.)
2731191 do you have the source OC these pony drones?
Nope. Maybe Derpibooru does; that's where this is from.
Sometimes I wonder how exactly I end up in these dark, clammy corners of FiMFiction.
Eh, drones.
For a moment I thought the RQ-4 was the Predator. I was thinking, "I've been looking at the wrong photos the entire time."