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Unmanned airplane: The last frontier
Published on Fri, Apr 06, 2007 at 23:17, Updated on Sat, Apr 07, 2007 at 00:59 in 
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Computers have made it possible for a pilot to concentrate less on flying the plane and more on flying the mission. But what if the plane could also fly the mission?
“When you look at flying military airplane and flying in the kind of places we have to today that are so heavily defended and the pilot becomes really a premium it's certainly something that you know we don't want to waste or lose. So, for those areas what we can do more effectively is by taking the pilot out of the cockpit,” Major General Perry Lamy of the Armed Forces Research Lab explained saying they are known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs.
Global Hawk, which has the wingspan of a jet airliner, cruises at 50,000 feet and can stay airborne for two days without refuelling. But even Global Hawk has a test pilot.
“It's a little embarrassing to be the chief test pilot for an unmanned airplane for a fighter pilot,” Global Hawk Pilot, USAF, Bob Ettinger quipped.
With its powerful computer brain, satellite communications and GPS system, the Hawk knows exactly where it is and where it's heading. And once a mission is set, Global Hawk can pilot itself.
“So, we have Air Force pilots that get up in the morning, eat breakfast with their wife, kiss them goodbye, go to work, fly eight hours of combat over Iraq and then come home and play with their kids in the afternoon,” Ettinger said matter-of-factly.
Not surprisingly, government agencies around the world are developing UAVs in every shape and form.
At the US Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton Ohio, scientists are taking the next leap in unmanned vehicles. They're attempting a plane that'll have all the benefits of the helicopter and the speed of an aeroplane without the pilot. And the craft's new name is Skytote.
“Skytote is an unmanned air vehicle that flies both like a helicopter and an aircraft. A lot of helicopters are limited in their top speed and most airplanes cannot stop in mid air so we've found a middle ground here. It can hover, has precision landing capability yet it can also fly at a relatively fast speed,” Skytote Programme Manager, Tom Cord said.
Many see the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle as the pilot's lifesaver. Others believe there's still need for a pilot in the cockpit.
In Sweden, a country with a population of a mere nine million, they have their own answer, their very own frontline fighter – the SAAB Gripen. This low maintenance aircraft can turn any straight road into a landing strip. So, the Gripen is one nation's answer to an unknown future.
As technology develops further, there will be new roles for the warplane, roles that are yet to be defined.
The next generation of warplanes is already on the drawing board. It is just a matter of time before they take to the skies.
You can watch the entire series of Top Gun on National Geographic Channel from April 9 to 13, every night at 2200 hours IST.
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