unmannable

Thu Aug 3 22:11:11 UTC 2006

For the sensibilities of the PC person, the familiar "unmanned aerial vehicles" (UAVs ) are often described as "uninhabited" instead.

  And you know, they really are uninhabited !

  JL

"James A. Landau" <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM> wrote:
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Some military/aerospace jargon I am not familiar with:

http://home.northgrum.com/news_stories_2006/in_080106c.html

Farnborough Review: Pilot Optional
Flight International
August 1, 2006
By Graham Warwick

US industry leans toward solutions that can switch from manned to unmanned

A new word is entering the aerospace lexicon as the US Air Force analyses its long-range strike options - unmannable: an aircraft that could begin its life manned, then evolve over time to unmanned operation; or one that could switch between missions, flying unmanned when the persistence required or threat faced is beyond a manned aircraft.

Designing the aircraft to be unmannable - or optionally piloted, as it is sometimes described - could defuse the brewing debate over whether the USA's next bomber should be manned or unmanned. The concept of phasing in unmanned capability could also help achieve both the USAF's aggressive initial operational capability (IOC) target of 2018 and its stated goal of having 40% of its long-range strike (LRS) capability unmanned.

Industry has been supplying data for a US Air Force analysis of alternatives (AoA) to be completed in March next year. This is looking at a range of options for new or upgraded weapons or platforms, including subsonic and supersonic, manned and unmanned. The outline requirements are for greater than 4,500kg (10,000lb) payload over a 3,700km (2,000nm) radius with next-generation stealth, but "we are waiting for the AoA to define the end game", says Muellner.

Lockheed Martin believes a subsonic design would be vulnerable, and favours a supersonic unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

Supersonic capability
An FB-22 strike version of Lockheed's F-22 stealth fighter would be low risk for a 2018 IOC, and would offer a supersonic dash capability, but would have only medium range. "We like it from an industry perspective as it has the lowest NRE [non-recurring expense], but the issue is range," says Capuccio.

Making the aircraft unmannable could "take away the angst of unmanned", says Fraser. There could be design penalties to pay, such as the fuselage size to accommodate the cockpit, or the conflict between the need for over-the-nose visibility when manned and sensor field-of-view when unmanned. But designing the aircraft to be manned initially and unmanned later could be a low-risk approach, believes Capuccio. "Spiral 1 could be manned, then you could slowly phase the man out."

"unmannable" appears to be a new term. The obvious meaning, however, is "incapable of having a human crew" rather than "capable of operating with or without a human crew"

"IOC" for "initial operating capability has been around for a while (at least 20 years in the FAA).

I've never heard "AoA" before but it probably has been around for a while.

"NRE" for "non-recurring expense" sounds vaguely familiar to me, but I can't recall ever having seen it.

"Spiral 1" for "first iteration, first go-round" is unfamiliar to me, but I suspect it's an oldie.

("Farnborough" was the big airshow in England last month)

- Jim Landau

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