Donnette

Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles of the future will fight along side their human counterparts for a while, until eventually they will be so superior, that a human would not stand a chance. Of course CUAVs cannot beat enemy fighter pilots until they can modify their software and learn thru artificial intelligence.

Indeed, there is also going to need to be some redesigning of these systems and their flight control surfaces. Many UAVs has spoilers to help them steer, but for the CUAVs to be truly agile the CUAV Spoilers need to be re-designed to remain efficient without killing lift or unnecessarily creating drag to maneuver as this is a bad strategy. As things advance efficiency is the most important component to fluidity of motion and performance otherwise the CUAV cannot survive.

If a CUAV is damaged in combat then the US Navy cannot allow it to return and land on the ship, rather it should proceed into the target making itself a smart missile. Thus new flight protocol is needed, as to not endanger the ship or crew. This needs to be the new protocol until future units have better control systems.

Currently, I disagree with companies like Athena and defense contractors so worried about Brand Name that they might advise the US Military to try to recover and land VTOL CUAVS or STOL UAVs back onto ships or carriers. Yet, I realize with continued research and development these issues will indeed be solved and then it makes sense to safely recover such units. Nevertheless all these are issues which must be considered as new CUAVs enter our military ranks.

L. Winslow is an Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer http://www.worldthinktank.net Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.