1/48 Freedom Model X-47B UCAS

[Medicman71]

Sorry not to be a "rivet counter" but they aren't robots or "drones"!! They are all piloted, just remotely.

[Thomas_M]

Nonetheless there is something "wrong": even in far far away future the pilots still sit in their crafts in Star Wars, for example...

[DoogsATX]

Sorry not to be a "rivet counter" but they aren't robots or "drones"!! They are all piloted, just remotely.

Not in this case!

The X-47 can be flown remotely, but it's designed for autonomous operation. In fact it can (and has) navigated carrier decks, performed cat shots and arrested landings completely on its own, without a human taking the controls.

[DoogsATX]

Nonetheless there is something "wrong": even in far far away future the pilots still sit in their crafts in Star Wars, for example...

Well, technically Star Wars took place a long, long time ago...

Honestly I don't think manned aircraft are going away any time soon. What I do is an increasing cooperation between manned and autonomous aircraft.

Think of it this way. You want to go bomb some stuff, or do some SEAD work. Flight of four aircraft. Each flown by a pilot that represents years of investment and training. Depending on the aircraft they might be joined by a RIO. That's four to eight lives, plus hundreds of millions of dollars, dozens of years of training, and so on. All for four aircraft.

Now imagine each of those aircraft could act as a "master" to a number of slaved drones. The drones would handle their own flight and navigation, but things like weapons release authorization would be under the control of the RIO in the backseat of the manned aircraft. Suddenly instead of a flight of four, you could have a flight of twelve or sixteen. A lot more firepower, plus a lot more (potential) protection for the manned aircraft. Imagine an F-22 with a few accompanying drones. Each could carry a Sidewinder or two, but also be engineered to fly into the path of hostile AAMs as a last-ditch defense.

[VanceCrozier]

I've got to admit, I'm really not all that interested in drones either, but there is something about this one. It looks beefier, angrier, more dangerous perhaps?

[VanceCrozier]

Sorry not to be a "rivet counter" but they aren't robots or "drones"!! They are all piloted, just remotely.

Not in this case!

The X-47 can be flown remotely, but it's designed for autonomous operation. In fact it can (and has) navigated carrier decks, performed cat shots and arrested landings completely on its own, without a human taking the controls.

AUTONOMOUS??? sounds a little HAL2000 to me...

[LyleW]

That part scares me. I work with computers all day, designing apps, writing reports, etc. I've done that since 1980. When these things decide to take off in their own direction, all bets are off. Tools of the devil and evil spawn of Satan, they are.

[BorgR3mc0]

Interesting build, looks like a high quality kit.

[DoogsATX]

Been awhile for this poor guy - with so many kits on the go it's just super-easy to procrastinate on the whole filling and sanding bit.

This kit doesn't need all that much, except for the triangular piece ahead of the intake trunk. The fit there was a bit rocky, so some putty was definitely needed. I also did some filling and sanding around the edges just to even things out from the glue work.

At long last, this sleek bastard is ready for primer. Well, after I mask the intake and gear bays...

[DoogsATX]

Got a start with the primer last night...had to stop mid-stream when I realized how late it was!