Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Why Are U.S. Air Force Drones Crashing


Washington Post: More Air Force drones are crashing than ever as mysterious new problems emerge

A record number of Air Force drones crashed in major accidents last year, documents show, straining the U.S. military’s fleet of robotic aircraft when it is in more demand than ever for counterterrorism missions in an expanding array of war zones.

Driving the increase was a mysterious surge in mishaps involving the Air Force’s newest and most advanced “hunter-killer” drone, the Reaper, which has become the Pentagon’s favored weapon for conducting surveillance and airstrikes against the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

The Reaper has been bedeviled by a rash of sudden electrical failures that have caused the 21/2-ton drone to lose power and drop from the sky, according to accident-investigation documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Investigators have traced the problem to a faulty starter-generator, but have been unable to pinpoint why it goes haywire or devise a permanent fix.

Read more ....

More News On The Growing Problem Of U.S. Air Force Drones Crashing

Fallen from the skies: Drone Crash Database -- Washington Post
The US Air Force Has A Serious Drone Crashing Problem -- Tech Times
The Air Force Can't Figure Out How to Stop Its Drones From Falling Out of the Sky -- Gizmodo
Mysterious Problems Bring Air Force Drone Crashes to a Record High -- Popular Mechanics
At Least 20 Major US Drone Accidents ‘Worst Annual Toll Ever’ in 2015 -- Sputnik
The Air Force's Reaper drone keeps crashing -- The Verge

2 comments:

Hans Persson said...

I have an inside source that says the pilots ( and thier commanders ) view them as "spendable", and they just have to "get another one." One of the reasons is that they rather run out of fuel then crash and detonates them then let a HVT get away.

Anonymous said...

Mhhh. Its smells like electronic war fare.. Culprit Russians