tecoyah

Looks alone could freak out an enemy....flying saucers dropping bombs, and nobody inside the plane. Your tax dollars in action.



A Boeing Joint Unmanned Combat Air System X-45 aircraft releases an inert global positioning system-guided bomb. (AP Photo/NASA) - click to enlarge.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A robotic plane deliberately dropped a bomb near a truck at Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday, marking another step forward for technology the U.S. military hopes will one day replace human pilots on dangerous combat missions.

Under human supervision but without human piloting, a prototype of the Boeing Co.'s X-45 took off from the desert base, opened its bomb bay doors, dropped a 250-pound Small Smart Bomb and then landed.

The inert bomb struck within inches of the truck it was supposed to hit, Boeing said, adding that had the bomb contained explosives, the target would have been destroyed.

"It's absolutely a huge step forward for us. It shows the capability of an unmanned airplane to carry weapons," said Rob Horton, Boeing's chief operator for the mission. "From the video, you see the weapon going down and a huge cloud of dust and the truck shaking around."

The X-45A was preprogrammed with the target coordinates and used the satellite-based Global Positioning System to adjust its course.

Horton, who was sitting 80 miles from the target, authorized the drone to drop the bomb, which was released from 35,000 feet as the plane flew at 442 mph.

The military sees such aircraft taking part in its most dangerous missions, such as bombing enemy radar and surface-to-air missile batteries, in order to clear the path for human pilots.

The Y-shaped, tailless plane has a 34-foot wingspan and weighs 8,000 pounds empty. It is the first drone designed specifically to carry weapons into combat.

Other robotic planes, including the Predator spy drone currently being used in Afghanistan, have been modified to carry weapons.

Boeing hopes to build hundreds of the X-45 planes, which would cost $10 million to $15 million each.




http://rn01.rednova.com/news/stories.../story004.html

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rollo

Wow that's pretty interesting actually; I heard a while ago of Predator drones being modded to carry hellfire missiles; and now this. I'm guessing robotics and automation is gonna play a huge role in the battles of the near future. But is it really necessary? I mean, the money could be used to solve all these other problems...the armed forces are good enough as they are.

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ObieX

I would rather see an unmanned drone being shot down than having a persons insides being splattered over an area of land they were flying past.

Most government money could be spent better though, you are correct.

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shred_head

I think it's a good idea. If human pilots can fly into enemy territory already knowing that most ground-to-air resistance they would face is gone it would be a huge confidence builder for that side and would probably help to ruin the confidence of the enemy.

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