Remembering the U-2′s long history
February 14th, 2012 | Air Force UAV | Posted by Jill Laster
Call me nerdy, but all this budget news about the U-2 is making me think about the plane’s storied past – specifically the 1960 incident in which an American pilot operating a CIA U-2 was shot down while conducting a recon mission over the Soviet Union. The incident strained an already tense relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, happening just two weeks before a planned East-West summit in Paris.
Powers was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison during what is largely considered in the West to be a show trial. However, he ended up serving a little under two years before being exchanged for a Russian intelligence officer named Rudolf Abel.
Above is an old-school clip of a news report on Powers’ trial (about half of the clip is about Powers – the other half is about Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger, which is a cool story in itself). You can also read more about Powers’ case here and about the U-2 here.
Taiwanese animation: U.S. drone shot down in Iran
December 5th, 2011 | Afghanistan Airframes Iran Next Media Animation UAV Video | Posted by David Larter
The good people at Next Media Animation are always quick on the draw when it comes to the latest news out of DoD. Here is their take of the recent downing of an Air Force Sentinel drone over Iran. The military says it’s unclear how the drone crashed in Iran. The Iranians claimed to have shot the stealthy drone out of the sky.
Tags: drone, Iran, Sentinel, Taiwanese Animation
Wired: Virus strikes U.S. drone fleet
October 7th, 2011 | UAV | Posted by Brian Everstine
A computer virus has infected the American fleet of Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft, Wired’s Danger Room reported today.
Check back here for more updates.
Rest in peace, manned aircraft
August 16th, 2011 | Air Force Flightlines UAV | Posted by David Larter
Tech. Sgt. Brian West watches an F-35 Lightning II U.S. approach for the first time July 14, 2011, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. // Samuel King Jr.
It’s been a good 97-year run but it’s time to dismantle the the fighter fleet and start pumping money into Predators and Global Hawks. This according to Michael O’Hanlon, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. It’s game over.
In an fascinating article previewing the inevitable downturn in the defense industry as the government cuts spending, AP’s Jonathan Fahey writes an obituary for the gangbusters military spending spree we’ve been on since 9/11. In it, O’Hanlon says the industry is just waiting for the hammer to drop on Joint Strike Fighter and all future manned aircraft.
During wartime, when dollars are flowing, the new equipment developed to battle new enemies is used together with the equipment that had been developed for earlier wars. But as budgets shrink this time, some of the technologies that were developed during the past decade, such as the unmanned aircraft, will have to replace older systems entirely.
“The era of manned airplanes should be seen as over,” says Michael O’Hanlon, a defense policy expert at the Brookings Institution. “The problem is nobody wants to give up the previously agreed on platform.”
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see but it’s not completely far fetched. This horrifying future has already been envisioned in the 2005 blockbuster cinematic achievement “Stealth”, a cautionary tale of what happens when computers have too much power. Take note, Congress.
But O’Hanlon’s argument has a bigger problem than the apocalyptic scenario laid out in Stealth. If fighters and bombers go away, so do fighter and bomber bases. Imagine getting that through congress. “Sorry Sen. Begich, and sorry Sen. Murkowski, but we’re closing Elmendorf.” Not likely.
Tags: Defense Cuts, Michael O'Hanlon, UAV