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Air Force Debuts New Jet-powered UAV
Topic Started: May 7 2009, 12:23 AM (142 Views)
XNavyGunner
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Next-generation Avenger (Source: U.S. Air Force)Next-generation drone will be used in Iraq and Afghanistan


The possible successor of the U.S. Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper recently made three official flights during testing. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the same company that developed the Reaper and MQ-1 Predator, is responsible for developing the Predator C Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle.

The next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle is 41 ft. long and has a 66-foot wingspan, which is slightly bigger than the 36 ft. long Reaper. Most notably, Avenger is jet-powered, allowing it to travel more than twice the speed of Reaper -- Avenger has flown as fast as 460 mph, while Reaper's top speed is 230 m.p.h.

Similar to Reaper, Avenger has been designed to carry 500-pound live bombs with GPS navigation and laser guidance kits utilized. Up to 3,000 pounds of weapons and other technology can be carried on the craft.

"Following in the footsteps of the proven Predator B, Avenger adds yet another flexible and multi-mission capability to the Predator UAS series and is a testament to GA-ASI's continuing practice of developing and delivering proven unmanned aircraft to military customers," according to a General Atomics executive.

The Air Force and General Atomics haven't signed an official contract for the development of the Avenger, but it seems rather unlikely the new drone won't be incorporated into the A.F. fleet at some point in the near future. General Atomics built both the Reaper and Predator without signed agreements from the U.S. government.

Drones have become increasingly important in Iraq and Afghanistan, as they are both cheaper and safer to go on attack and reconnaissance missions. Furthermore, drones such as Predator are used to help create "patterns-of-life analysis" footage to help monitor individual Iraqis and Afghans who may launch attacks from crowds of civilians.

Source

I wish we had this stuff when I was in.
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Max
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Pickle barrel, pickle barrel, Kumquat!
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The suxxors thing is the Air Force uses Fighter Pilots to operate the bloody UAVs,when a kid with a Playstation could handle it. You know,a new fighter pilot,having just cost $2 million to train,can be assigned to UAVs for 10 YEARS,no transfer? It's crazy.
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DONTEATUS
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:wall: Its the wave of the new Airforce,less bucks ,less risk to pilots. Bottom line,
Its the right decission to make.
Next is the Last Star Fighter series of Craft.
Real pliots will be turning in there Jet Wash after this.
Its all for the Good of Mankind right?
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Max
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Pickle barrel, pickle barrel, Kumquat!
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OK-say you graduate the Air Force Academy,pass UPT,Intro to Fighter Fundamentals,and learn to fly an F-15 or F-16,then get 10 YEARS in UAVs......now,after 10 years you can get out of the Force,or transfer back to the fighter you trained in. You are a Senior Captain with maybe 300 flying hours in fighters and no upgrade training.So you get to be a wingman all over. Or you can quit. Does any of this sound like a wise use of the funds it takes to train a fighter pilot? Not to me it doesn't.

This isn't Stealth or Macross Plus. UAVs are nowhere near ready for air-to-air combat. We still need stout hearts and sharp minds inside manned aircraft.

And we will for at least 100 years. Train enlisted techs to fly the UAVs. Let fighter pilots pilot fighters.
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XNavyGunner
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Pilots, especially Navy and Marines up to WW2 didn't have to be officers. They had senior enlisted as pilots and they were preferred over Ensigns and 2nd Lt.'S.
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