Unmanned fighter aircraft

January 2006, the 13th day. In the middle of the night, in a Pakistani village near the Afghan border, a series of loud booms woke everyone up. The chaos lasted only a few seconds but the villagers saw many houses destroyed.

Among the dead, some are leaders of Al-Qaeda. Successful campaign. Once again the Predator, the remote-controlled unmanned aircraft, had quietly spotted the target. And the soldiers hundreds of kilometers away pressed the fire button, just like in a video game!(photo 1)

Unmanned aircraft (MBKNL) seems to have truly replaced the classic fleet. Its benefits are enormous. If one is shot down, one only takes a pile of iron worth about 3 million USD, instead of an airplane that is 100 times more expensive and accompanied by the pilot.

First model of wood

Right from the First World War, an American engineer built a wooden plane, two wings, unmanned, which could turn itself into a bomb. But this ' machine ' was never used. During the conflicts of the 20th century, from the Second World War to the Vietnam War, people continued to experiment whether they were more or less successful. But it is Israel that makes the MBKNL grow quickly, after the 1979 Scout.

No bigger than a baby toy airplane, it is used to spy. This model was soon replicated throughout the world. For example, in 2002, when attacking Afghanistan, the United States carried three types of MBKNL in backpacks with different tasks: reconnaissance, electronic warfare and missile shooting!

This attractive weapon has a major drawback: lack of self-propelled ability. If you lose contact with the ground (such as being interfered with information or destroyed by the command center) it cannot survive in the sky on its own. The near future will belong to armies that combine both classic aircraft and MBKNLs.

Types of gas control in the future

Dragonfly scouts - the project of the SilMach Company and TDH Franche - Comté, completed 2020.

With insect size (4cm) this mini MBKNL can crawl into a room filled with enemies, hide in a corner, then film all the ongoing events and send information to the owner, until when . out of battery!(photo 2).

Ressac: rescued downed pilots - Onera project, completed 2010.

A plane shot down on enemy territory! Ressac's mission is to save the pilot! This mini helicopter flies very low to avoid enemy radar. It can fly without a driver to the refuge and find a flat ground to land on.

In this campaign, the communication limit is as limited as possible to avoid eavesdropping. When Ressac landed on the ground, the fallen pilot just climbed up, no need to drive and contact the headquarters. The plane is enclosed like an armored vehicle.

He only has two choices: either to get in by the shortest path, or point with a screen to take with him so that he can avoid the enemy blocking the road (photo 3). Pocket, to fight on the street - Onera project, completed 2008.

MBKNL

It can be contained in a soldier's backpack and thrown by his hand. This is a modification of the ' light hand ' type used in the Vietnam War. Remotely controlled by an electromagnetic box, it precedes the infantry.

Thanks to the camera, it can see both the day and night the enemy is hiding behind windows or fortifications on the street and sending information to the operator. Soldiers can advance without fear of ambush (photo 4).

Types of MBKNL are present on the battlefield

Global Hawk, MBKNL at altitude:

As the only type operating at the present height, Global Hawk is almost invisible and out of enemy range (maximum height of 19,812m. 48 hours continuous operation, within a range of 22,000km). It is a dark, powerful spy with countless devices to carry: radar looking through the clouds, the ability to detect mobile targets, giant electronic telescopes, night-vision glasses . , in 24 hours it can scan an area equal to a quarter of France, without missing a single detail!

Predator, midrange MBKNL:

Flying at a maximum height of 7,000m, Predator has a 40-hour uptime, 740km long range. It not only observes enemies from afar but can also attack: disturbing electromagnetic waves, using laser points, and . firing missiles!

Spewer, MBKNL tactics:

Contrary to the other two, tactical MBKNL does not need landing and takeoff. Shot from the launcher of the truck, it can land anywhere by parachuting and ' win ' with airbags. Thus Spewer can shoot directly from the battlefield to observe how the enemy's troops are transferred. It can also interfere with information waves and use laser points to show artillery and missiles. Spewer has a maximum altitude of 5,000m, a range of six hours, within a distance of 400km.

1. Global Hawk comes .
2. From above, it observes the whole scene of the battlefield
3. Two Predators were launched
4. The first one breaks the wave of enemy information
5. The second one launches Hellfire missiles on the enemy's brain car
6. It then reports the result to Global Hawk to return to headquarters
7. The forward commander launched a Spewer
8. It flies over the enemy's head and points to the artillery

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