"By 2040, One Half of the Fighter Aircraft Force will be Unmanned"
"UCAV are about to capture a more substantial share of the aerial strike force," says Col. (res.) Ofer Haruvi, CTO of IAI's Military Aircraft Group. "This is a global trend, and it is estimated that 6th generation aircraft will also feature unmanned capabilities"
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 09/11/2016
"The world is leaning toward aerial forces where the strike force is made up of a combination of unmanned and manned platforms. There's already talk about 6th generation aircraft as unmanned platforms," says Colonel (res.) Ofer Haruvi, CTO of IAI's Military Aircraft Group, during the UVID 2016 Conference. "It is estimated that by 2040, one half of the aerial strike force will be unmanned. The estimates notwithstanding, the characteristics of the UCAV have not been finalized yet.
"Along with UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles), VTOL (Vertical Take-Off & Landing) aircraft are becoming essential, too. There is a need for an aircraft capable of taking off without a runway from a platform at sea or on land.
"There are all kinds of solutions at present, including aircraft with propellers or various other mechanisms that enable vertical take-off. These solutions are effective during the take-off and landing processes, but a helicopter is ineffective as far as speed and endurance are concerned. So that is not the direction in which the VTOL world is heading. The directions currently being considered are a hovering capability and fixed-wing aircraft. One of the difficulties is the weight of the engine of a fixed-wing platform during vertical take-off.
"Another important aspect is preventing collisions. Large aircraft have dedicated systems for that purpose. Basic, inexpensive aircraft rely on the pilot. Small UAVs present a problem. Once the UAV is out of visual contact, there is no way to assign the responsibility to the operator. Consequently, some platforms will only fly within visual contact. Once they are out of visual contact, it is a yet unresolved problem with regard to the aspect of colliding with other vehicles. Sensing and prevention systems are the solution, but none are currently available commercially for the smaller vehicles."
"UCAV are about to capture a more substantial share of the aerial strike force," says Col. (res.) Ofer Haruvi, CTO of IAI's Military Aircraft Group. "This is a global trend, and it is estimated that 6th generation aircraft will also feature unmanned capabilities"
"The world is leaning toward aerial forces where the strike force is made up of a combination of unmanned and manned platforms. There's already talk about 6th generation aircraft as unmanned platforms," says Colonel (res.) Ofer Haruvi, CTO of IAI's Military Aircraft Group, during the UVID 2016 Conference. "It is estimated that by 2040, one half of the aerial strike force will be unmanned. The estimates notwithstanding, the characteristics of the UCAV have not been finalized yet.
"Along with UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles), VTOL (Vertical Take-Off & Landing) aircraft are becoming essential, too. There is a need for an aircraft capable of taking off without a runway from a platform at sea or on land.
"There are all kinds of solutions at present, including aircraft with propellers or various other mechanisms that enable vertical take-off. These solutions are effective during the take-off and landing processes, but a helicopter is ineffective as far as speed and endurance are concerned. So that is not the direction in which the VTOL world is heading. The directions currently being considered are a hovering capability and fixed-wing aircraft. One of the difficulties is the weight of the engine of a fixed-wing platform during vertical take-off.
"Another important aspect is preventing collisions. Large aircraft have dedicated systems for that purpose. Basic, inexpensive aircraft rely on the pilot. Small UAVs present a problem. Once the UAV is out of visual contact, there is no way to assign the responsibility to the operator. Consequently, some platforms will only fly within visual contact. Once they are out of visual contact, it is a yet unresolved problem with regard to the aspect of colliding with other vehicles. Sensing and prevention systems are the solution, but none are currently available commercially for the smaller vehicles."
