The first FAA authorization to routinely fly an unmanned aircraft within the National Airspace System (NAS) was recently granted to the U.S. Air Force. The military will use this sign-off to fly the RQ-4 Global Hawk, which was widely used in Afghanistan and the recent war in Iraq. The new Certificate of Authorization (COA) allows it to be used throughout the NAS in a new homeland defense role. The certificate is the first national COA granted for an unmanned air vehicle system. Of course, the Global Hawk had previously flown in the NAS but on a restricted basis, while testing for its new domestic role. Now with the advent of mode "S" transponders, precision altitude and navigation equipment, and UHF/VHF voice relay radios, the unmanned aircraft will reportedly integrate and communicate with air traffic control and even file and fly its own IFR flight plans.
Northrop Grumman is hoping to get similar grants for its armed version of the Global Hawk. But such military grants are just the thin end of the wedge for Dunham: "My concern is that commercial airlines are interested in applications like this too."
Why would you feel sorry for the Air Force? You must not have read the article. It said they got pretty much carte blanche to fly those things in airspace above this country. That doesn't even have anything to do with pilots losing jobs at all. They even want to fly armed ones about.
When the separation of church and state doesn't exist in this country anymore and the enforcement of law exists at the end of the barrel of a gun being flown by a pilotless drone...then we'll see who got the deal of the century.
I don't feel sorry for anyone- it was a quote from the movie. In the movie, Chevy Chase plays a representative for a defense contractor that is trying to sell a new UCAV. The drone malfunctions at an air show and starts shooting at everything in sight.
My point is, autonomous vehicles are far too undeveloped to let them go flying around in the busiest airspace in the world. The Global Hawk is fully autonomous- it isn't remotely piloted like the Predator, and it flies much higher and much farther. The two Global Hawks lost during combat missions were not lost to enemy action. They went down due to system malfunctions. Hopefully the military is prepared to answer some questions when airliners have to start dodging these things, or when one of them crashes and destroys private property on the ground.
Drones are useful for many things, but their only use in the continental US is monitoring the ADIZ, and that doesn't require them flying over populated areas.
Yes, I understand the humor. I saw the movie. I also see your point about the planes and their suspect history.
At that point I did segue and it wasn't really with you and your post. It really was more of "THINK" thing. If the government has pretty much the free will to put unmanned autonomous drones over our country to protect us, how soon will it be before the black plane/helicopter drivelings of paranoids...actually becomes a real life day to day existance.
That was a segue and not meant to a rant on your post, I know sometimes things get lost in the translation of the teletype we call the internet.
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