I hope this is the right place to ask but what's your opinion on drone usage
for a modern military?
Personally, I think drones would make excellent ground support and workhorse aircraft if they were made cheaply and in enough numbers. They might even make
decent replacements for the retiring A-10s since what they lack in individual
firepower, they make up for in presence and numbers. They might also be
good for taking down an air defense network in a brute force kind of way.
So basically a low-tech complement to manned aircraft instead of high-tech
replacements. On the other hand, as demonstrated by Iran, non-autonomous drones will always be vulnerable to outside "interference" by persistent opponents.
But this all presupposes that countries can make capable drones at an affordable
price say 50 percent the performance of an F-16 at 35 percent of the price. Right
now, I think countries such as the US, France, and China are trying to put too much capability into individual drones and not emphasizing the fact that drones
are expendable. The RQ-9 reaper is an okay example, but the price at $20 mil. is still too high for what you're getting.
Again I'm new so please excuse me if someone has already posted
something like this.
for a modern military?
Personally, I think drones would make excellent ground support and workhorse aircraft if they were made cheaply and in enough numbers. They might even make
decent replacements for the retiring A-10s since what they lack in individual
firepower, they make up for in presence and numbers. They might also be
good for taking down an air defense network in a brute force kind of way.
So basically a low-tech complement to manned aircraft instead of high-tech
replacements. On the other hand, as demonstrated by Iran, non-autonomous drones will always be vulnerable to outside "interference" by persistent opponents.
But this all presupposes that countries can make capable drones at an affordable
price say 50 percent the performance of an F-16 at 35 percent of the price. Right
now, I think countries such as the US, France, and China are trying to put too much capability into individual drones and not emphasizing the fact that drones
are expendable. The RQ-9 reaper is an okay example, but the price at $20 mil. is still too high for what you're getting.
Again I'm new so please excuse me if someone has already posted
something like this.