Unmanned aerial vehicles | UAVs

[rares209]

Very good question. The advantages of using drones are unquestionable, but I don't think that the world will see fighter type drones. Why? Because they will be pretty expensive, maybe not so expensive like a fighter jet and it will maybe save some lives, but as we all know, money talks. This drones need a lot of power to caryy heavy weapons, high-tech guidance systems and other stuff like this. This means their price will be pretty high. Maybe I am wrong, time will tell.

 

[vegito12]

I think they will prevent deaths, and even lower casualties in the war and may even win wars for us which will be amazing and take the meaning of war out as it will be a new age where the machine fights for the humans. The cost could be higher and depends on what materials are used and how long it takes to make a drone and having it armed which will determine the budget being used. The government may fund it and taxpayers money, which will help make these sort of drones are reality and one day they will be used for war and take the pressure off humans and do the job.

 

[kestas57]

I would have to agree with most people here.
The problem with drones is that they are controlled by someone sat far away, devoid of emotion and general presence. A camera can only show so much. Often in war, it is important that one is there to experience it and therefore make decisions that are correct. Also, drones are electrical, and are therefore highly susceptible to EMP attacks. Humans are not affected by EMP and can continue to fight in the case of one being detonated.

 

[orangesunset]

That is a very good point. I never considered the effectiveness of drones in large groups.

However, when we reach the stage where we can have autonomous drones acting in concert, the state of warfare will likely be autonomous machine vs autonomous machine. In such an era, wars may last only days but I wonder what the consequences will be for humans!

Wars are won by economics. So which country produces the most, coupled with how efficent they are in destroying the enemies infrastructure.

So you can actually calculate average cost to kill an enemy soldier / civilian. For things like bombing of factories you can calculate amount spent for each bombing raid versus the amount of damage incurred.

The dollar value of each soldier and civilian can be calculated. Since civilans produce things you can calculate his dollar value.

So if a country has a large population, and an AK-47 costs $100. If USA has to spend $500,000 on bombs or ordinance to kill the one guy with the A-47, on the longterm this type of war can not be one. So with drones it comes into cost per drone versus guy with rifle.

A pilot and aircraft is more valuable then an infantryman with a rifle. The pilot requires a huge amount of training, so from an economic standpoint, he is worth a lot more then an infantryman.

Morally speaking all life is equal. Dollars and cents will, sadly this is not the case. A 12 year old kid has little value economically, brainwash the kid to strap some plastic explosive on himself, he rushes some military checkpoint, blows himself up and kills 4 soldiers. From an economic standpoint this is a victory.

 

[kittyworker]

I don't think they will ever fully replace human pilots. I think there are many things that can be done with drones that are not, such as close air support. It will be a long time before AI is smart enough to take over in combat jets though.

 

[gmckee1985]

While drones are an integral part of fighting terrorism and our enemies abroad, I think its highly unlikely they will replace planes completely. You cant remove the human element completely. Some missions will require human being because situations and circumstances change during war. Some things you cant plan for.

 

[Zeroneverends]

I feel that the drones offer an interesting opportunity for the United States military. Drones can do bombings on select targets. Scouting can be done by drones, not a service member. Drones are relativity low cost and can be outfitted with cameras, plus a host of other accessories. Drones can be the future and help supplement our military.

 

[xTinx]

Drones will definitely play a major role in future air warfare. Compared to fighter jets where you can't guarantee pilots' lives, you can use drones to infiltrate enemy enclaves without having to sacrifice them. There are also super-silent drone types, capable of spying on enemy movements without getting detected. You can cover so much ground with drones and minimize casualties on your end.

 

[tasha]

I think there are advantages and disadvantages when using Drones as they do help in war to find the target and to get a view of what is going on so that the soldiers can be warned, however the drones can be seen by the enemy too and by the time the soldiers need to get out it is too late so maybe instead of drones they should find a way to retreive soldiers quickly before it is too late. There is no point in watching what is going on if there is no point of escape. Drones cans also be effective by getting the target which could take days if it was done on foot.

 

[tournique]

Drones have a huge advantage over manned vehicles. But they are still just drones and it's not that easy to remotely operate them. Let's say we encounter an EMP, what happens to the drones guiding system then?

 

[morgan_titan]

I agree, drones will change the landscape of war tremendously - although not for a while. Currently, drones play significant roles in recon, and I think it will only get better. I can see drones being used to identify firing positions and relaying them to the ground troops using some sort of smart systems.

Lifting the fog of war is going to be one of the most important aspects of ensuring troops on the ground stay alive.

 

[Laura Greenbrier]

There are many aspects to drone warfare in addition to the delivery of arms. One key role in which drones can serve is intelligence. We are looking at the very beginning of drone warfare, and some versions of the crafts are already quite small and nimble. Miniaturization will continue and soon we will have, or perhaps already have, miniature drones that are virtually unnoticeable. This mobile intelligence drone can infiltrate key strategic positions without being noticed, and deliver intelligence that could literally influence the decisions of commanders and shift the fortunes of entire nations--as in "The Imitation Game."

 

[Redheart]

I don't think drones will be the future of air warfare. In fact, in future except in small wars, air warfare will be all but dead. Why? Because should there be a major war, nuclear weapons will be used. First targets to be hit would be air bases and other military targets.

 

[JoanMcWench]

As far as air warfare is concerned? Yes, I do believe drones are going to be our future. However, as far as war in general is concerned: No. Technological warfare is the new war. Why have people man deadly toys when you can clear their funds, disturb their missions, crash their planes in a few keystrokes?

 

[goldenmaine]

In the far future it is possible that this would be the main tools which will be used in air warfare, along with other futuristic tools and weapons. Drones have a lot of advantages and we have observed that today and it could give more in the future with upgrades and further improvements. It is just frightening to think that these are computer controlled and piloted, so a cyber attack may disable it and worse be used against the one who deployed these drones. I don’t know exactly what future warfare holds, but I hope humans will still be the ones calling the shots during these times.