usaf air combat tactics and maneuvering pdf

national security community regarding the future of uncrewed combat aircraft. Striking the appropriate balance between art and science is at the forefront of the emerging debates in the U.S. Beyond these basic principles, there is plenty to discuss. Remote piloting won’t be an option, because even a brief break in a data link could lead to mission failure. Aerial combat unfolds so rapidly and dynamically that at least some of the intelligence will always need to be aboard the aircraft, whether it is piloted by a human or a computer or some combination of the two. No matter how fast drone technology advances, some level of human judgment - which is the art of war - will almost certainly be essential when decisions involve a high degree of risk, the kinds of decisions that fighter pilots have to make all the time. Our takeaway from Maverick’s story is that air combat, which at its most demanding involves taking human life, is both a science and an art. It’s his robotic competition: a new drone program with support from senior leadership in the Pentagon.ĭespite his Mach 10 misadventures, Maverick manages to save his job by leading a younger generation of Top Gun pilots into combat on a mission that demands his well-honed intuition and piloting skills. But the threat to his career isn’t atrophying pilot skills.

I n an early scene from “Top Gun: Maverick,” the world’s most famous on-screen fighter pilot almost loses his job flight testing the latest and greatest hypersonic fighter jets. An air autonomy expert, a fighter pilot and a computer scientist explain how the future of uncrewed combat aircraft could unfold. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the cockpit anytime soon. ANALYSIS: Rise of the AI fighter pilots May 2023Īs powerful as artificial intelligence is, don’t expect a sophisticated collection of bits and bytes to replace Top Gun’s Capt.

Usaf air combat tactics and maneuvering pdf