So many wrong takes here. To start, what makes the F-35 or the B-21 expensive is the software and the electronics, not the pilot per se (of course, having the pilot makes it more expensive, but the primary source of cost overrun and time delays was the software). - ThreadSky

maurogilli.bsky.social • 98 days ago

So many wrong takes here.
To start, what makes the F-35 or the B-21 expensive is the software and the electronics, not the pilot per se (of course, having the pilot makes it more expensive, but the primary source of cost overrun and time delays was the software).

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bigbadbonker.bsky.social•97 days ago

What about security? Can you trust a drone to attack the "final enemy", if you can't be sure that the control was not compromised, and the drone may finally turn against you?
Assume, a nuclear armed drone takes off from an aircraft carrier, and the enemy has means to control that drone.

lammiswatching.bsky.social•98 days ago

📌

marcellograz.bsky.social•98 days ago

Gotta understand goppers’ dream-life looks like this (but with a “drone”, whatever they picture that is)

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

Which is importante because a reusable drone would need to get all that flashy electronics of an F-35, which is expensive (a Global Hawk costs in the 200m ball range, vis-à-vis 90 for an F-35).

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

Second, to be "reusable" - i.e., capable of operating in contested airspaces - it would need to have stealth technology (i.e., both active and passive cancellation of its different signatures - electromagnetic, thermal, acoustic...)

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

A Global Hawk cannot operate in a contested airspace, as a shooting down of the Navy version, the Triton, by Iran in 2019 shows. In this sense, the criticism of stealth and the reference to reusability is a bit weird as it's not clear how you'd accomplish latter without former

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

Third, sophisticated SAM have so far shot down only one stealth aircraft, the F-117, and that shooting down was due to a mix of factors, including the US Air Force was flying the same route, and Yugoslavia had spotters outside Aviano Air base that served as early warning sensors

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

Fourth, low light sensitivity cameras cannot detect stealth aircraft at long range, which would mean that air defenses would not have enough time to react to an incoming aircraft.

maurogilli.bsky.social•98 days ago

Fifth, stealth is not about being "invisible" but about reducing the range of detection for enemy sensors, and in particular for enemy radars, which have the longer range (from radar range to eyesight range, i.e., to low light sensitivity cameras).

tamslick.bsky.social•98 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/tamslick.bsky.social/post/3lbqvxohoxk2o

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