Friday, September 01, 2006

The Last of the Mohicans -- or not

Who knows what this means? Unmanned F-35 on horizon:

WASHINGTON - Some contend Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter will be the last manned fighter jet as interest grows in unmanned aerial vehicles, but the corporation has already played with the idea of taking the man out of the fighter jet. ... The Skunk Works, Lockheed's research and development arm in California, did a feasibility study to look into "what if" the F-35 was unmanned or optionally piloted, Dianne Knippel, Palmdale, Calif.-based director of communications for Lockheed, said. Nothing has been "formally" proposed to the Air Force or is in development for such a UAV, Knippel said. Neither has the Air Force requested an unmanned F-35.

It really isn't on the horizon if no one has asked for an unmanned F-35, but the fact that it is being considered, even academically, is interesting.


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