Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Revolution In Air Power

X-47B and MQ-4C BAMS mock-ups seen on display at NAS Naval Air Station, San Diego, at last weekend’s Naval Aviation Centennial celebration. Note the drooped wings of the BAMS which is actually based on an early Global Hawk-mock-up, and therefore not (strictly speaking) representative of the higher dihedral configuration of the later variants, including the upcoming MQ-4C – the first of which are in initial production with first flight scheduled for 2012. (Guy Norris)

The Unnoticed Air Power Revolution -- Strategy Page

January 17, 2012: A century after aerial reconnaissance first revolutionized warfare, another radical new aerial technology is taking air recon to a new level. That level is low, a few hundred meters off the ground. It all began in the American military during the last decade. The aircraft are the nearly 6,000 small (under ten kg/11 pounds) UAVs in use by ground troops. Traditional U.S. military aviators, and the 10,000 manned aircraft they operate, are somewhat disdainful of these tiny, unmanned, aircraft. But for the troops on the ground, they are a lifesaver and the key to many victories. This sort of thing has happened before.

Read more
....

My Comment: This is my must read for today.

No comments: