10.04.2005
(greg points out the real story over at boeing. zero-casualty warfare, hurrah.)
Two sleek, stealthy aircraft are majestically poised on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., ready to take to the skies. Nicknamed “Stingray 1” and “Stingray 2,” what distinguishes these Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems X-45A vehicles from other aircraft at the base isn’t just their futuristic, Hollywood-esque look.
They will revolutionize the future of flight and warfare.
Boeing is making history with the unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) that operate on a complex computer system. These aircraft can engage in high-threat combat missions, while the pilot safely carries out the mission from a remote ground location anywhere in the world.
The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program is changing air combat missions as we know them. The UCAV concept of “fly-by-mouse” means the pilot sits at a ground station instead of a cockpit and manages multiple vehicles in high-threat combat missions with a computer mouse instead of a stick and rudder. The pilot’s view is a computer console instead of the combat-zone skies.
Two sleek, stealthy aircraft are majestically poised on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., ready to take to the skies. Nicknamed “Stingray 1” and “Stingray 2,” what distinguishes these Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems X-45A vehicles from other aircraft at the base isn’t just their futuristic, Hollywood-esque look.
They will revolutionize the future of flight and warfare.
Boeing is making history with the unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) that operate on a complex computer system. These aircraft can engage in high-threat combat missions, while the pilot safely carries out the mission from a remote ground location anywhere in the world.
The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program is changing air combat missions as we know them. The UCAV concept of “fly-by-mouse” means the pilot sits at a ground station instead of a cockpit and manages multiple vehicles in high-threat combat missions with a computer mouse instead of a stick and rudder. The pilot’s view is a computer console instead of the combat-zone skies.
