JediMaster 451 Posted September 15, 2009 http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-09/when-drones-go-wild-air-force-shoots-them-down I've heard several USAF officials state the Predator/Reaper isn't what the USAF wanted or needed, but it was the best solution available when the need arose. If they had to do it again from scratch, they'd have a different system. Of course, how much of these incidents are due to the individual platform and how many arise from the procedures devised to use them is major issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,861 Posted September 15, 2009 Even with a different system they would still have to iron out a few thousand bugs like this one - and even then doesn't guarantee they wont lose control of it at some point. I thought the thing was supposed to revert to a default course if it lost contact? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted September 16, 2009 Exactly, it's supposed to revert to a holding pattern if contact is broken. I think there's also an RTB option, not sure if that's used or not. To just fly off wherever is bad, so is this the fault of the onboard programming malfunctioning, or do the large number of Predator losses indicate a problem with the basic concept of how it works? We seem to lose more of them percentage wise than any other UAV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macelena 1,070 Posted September 16, 2009 That´s nothing new. We use the same platform for our UAVs as Target for shooting practice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
