Return of the Living Dead or a New Army for the Old Air Force
The QF-16 target plane is taking off. There is no pilot in the cockpit.
Our respected friend from across the globe, Kyle Mizokami, is openly having fun with what ideas are born in the minds of figures from the American military department, but such is the nature of man: why not laugh at what seems funny?
The reason for the fun was the speech of the military analyst Zacharias Kallenborn, who proposed to throw all his efforts into creating an air fleet from obsolete aircraft.
"Undead planes" or "zombie planes", properly re-equipped, can play the role of unmanned strike vehicles capable of conducting combat operations and thereby increase the overall fleet of the US Air Force.
The proposal is very interesting, but there are nuances.
We all know perfectly well how many old aircraft are stored in one of the American deserts. There, in the absence of precipitation, they do not corrode so quickly and some of them are slowly dismantled for spare parts.
So, Kallenborn believes, if the Pentagon considers the topic of aviation necromancy worthy of attention (in the sense of the budget), then for a start, a certain number of F-16s can be returned from an honorable retirement and made of them Drones.
Necro-Aeronautics: Raising Undead Aircraft for War (“Necro-aeronautics - raise undead aircraft for war”) - this is how Kallenborn calls his article and, I must say, his terms are just on the way.
In general, the topic is not completely new. The use of old aircraft as targets for training pilots began after the Second World War, and the idea of remote control of aircraft was tried to be implemented during the war.
But here we are talking about several other things. What China is doing today, turning old planes into guided flying bombs or drones-kamikaze, in the US must be surpassed. There is no need to turn old planes into targets and litter the ground with debris, it is better to arm them and throw them at the enemy. And there will be sense, and a certain saving of crews.
The American military must go through the American ones (or you can dig into the dumps from the allies) aviation cemeteries, both military and civilian, to recruit a sufficient number of aircraft that can be turned into UAVs. This will require careful inventories and inspections of aircraft at cemeteries to assess airworthiness, the possibility of transition to remote or autonomous flight, and weapons options.
For some aircraft, it is worth considering the suspension of bombs and missiles, and some (civilian) can be used precisely as kamikaze drones.
This necro program will require a decent staff of technicians to keep the planes operational, as well as pilot-operators to fly those planes. Naturally, one must be prepared for the fact that hefty sums will be required not only for the re-equipment and re-equipment of aircraft, but also for the initial selection.
But at the output there is a fairly decent number of aircraft capable of carrying out strike actions. Drones are often relatively cheap and can be thrown at an enemy without much regret. Using a swarm of drones at once can overwhelm a target: Naval Postgraduate students' simulations in 2012 showed that when eight drones attack a destroyer-class ship, typically four pass through the defenses.
This ability to suppress targets also makes drones quite valuable for high-risk missions. For example, the mass of drones is well suited for suppressing enemy air defense missions - the loss of cheap drones is much less significant than the loss of an expensive manned aircraft and the death or capture of a pilot.
Similarly, drones are well suited to attack command posts, convoys, or logistics lines, where the strategic benefits could far outweigh the loss of large numbers of drones. Even simple roles, such as unmanned aerial vehicles to correct artillery fire, require a large number, because the enemy, understanding the essence of their tasks, simply seeks to shoot them down.
The Russo-Ukrainian war illustrates the mass problem well, with both sides diligently destroying enemy drone stockpiles. Ukraine and Russia have made significant efforts to increase supplies, including through imports from Turkey and Iran, and both sides are actively purchasing and using civilian drones for military purposes.
Aircraft cemeteries provide a potentially excellent source for restocking drones by converting aircraft into unmanned systems. The world's largest aircraft graveyard, the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona, says it typically has more than 4 aircraft in check and storage, ranging from Soviet MiGs to A-200 Thunderbolts.
Arizona's low humidity means planes rust more slowly. Yes, the planes are in various states, some planes are destined for scrapping while others are maintained and upgraded. Just in case.
Graveyard planes are often taken apart for parts, but a lot will depend on what parts were removed. An undead aircraft does not need to support the life support of a living pilot and all systems associated with it, including control. Yes, some technical changes will be required to convert to remote piloting. So sometimes something already dismantled will not have to be returned back. The missing parts may be unnecessary.
Problems of real shortage of parts for old aircraft can supposedly be solved with the help of 3D printing. Such details can be a way out. Of course, they will not last as long as the original ones, but this is not required. This is especially true for kamikaze aircraft, which have a one-way road.
Naturally, the questions of organizing swarms of drones remain. This entails the installation of additional receivers and transmitters of information, the development of behavior and programming algorithms, but the undead aircraft will be able to fly autonomously and even perform tasks. At the same time, this will reduce the need for pilot-operators.
Such aircraft will be able to perform various tasks in real combat conditions. The most obvious is filling the aircraft with explosives, followed by a kamikaze strike. The long range of the aircraft makes them suitable for attacks on targets behind the lines, such as railway bridges and other infrastructure.
More well-preserved aircraft can be used repeatedly by hanging bombs or rockets on them. This can be quite effective as a first wave attack in front of manned aircraft: undead planes and other decoys load up air defense radars that can be hit with anti-radiation missiles. If the undead planes pass through the air defenses, they can attack targets not only with suspended weapons, but also as kamikazes, causing additional damage.
In general, the output is quite maneuverable and fast, but not burdened with intelligence, ammunition. But this ammunition is inexpensive and can be used on demand, so to speak.
Ideally, UAVs should be as autonomous as possible to reduce training and operational requirements, and have relatively standardized control systems so that pilots can easily transition from one system to another. In the long term, the real pilot should be replaced by an artificial intelligence pilot, completely eliminating the need for a human pilot. What would be of particular interest is the possibility of converting downed and captured enemy aircraft into UAVs. It would be technologically difficult and not streamlined, but it could provide additional bonuses. How the Germans used captured and restored Allied aircraft for special operations during World War II.
Kallenborn notes (correctly!) that aircraft taken from a storage base (“cemetery”) can vary greatly in age, flight readiness and, therefore, conversion costs. Older aircraft may not have the power and stability needed to handle modern avionics. Even if the airframe is in order, support, maintenance, transportation and conversion to remote control take time and cost money.
Even more funds may be required to transport these aircraft to the places of application. Here, all hope is for the aircraft carrier fleet, if, for example, aircraft need to be delivered to Europe or Korea, for use against Russia or China. However, this is a worthwhile expense.
In general, the costs and benefits must be compared with the creation and deployment of traditional unmanned aerial vehicles. And traditional drones can be cheaper, but also carry a much smaller payload, and the production supply may not meet demand in a large-scale war, as Russia and Ukraine have done.
Of course, over time, the stocks of aircraft in the “bone yards” will run out, but by that time the industry will already be able to realize the respite received and increase production volumes. Volumes are the mass of aircraft that can be lifted into the air and used against the enemy.
If unmanned systems are the future of war, then developing and maintaining a mass of flying vehicles is also work for the future. Unmanned systems have high wear rates, they do not have as long a resource as a conventional aircraft, so UAV stocks can be quickly depleted. As the United States prepares for the possibility of a massive great power war, the country must think creatively about how to gain an edge in a protracted conflict.
UAVs can be a useful addition to expensive "smart" munitions. Big dumb planes loaded with explosives flying at a target might be good for some missions, leaving smart bombs on missions where they would be more useful.
But successful necro-aeronautics will require an initial effort to inventory and evaluate aircraft cemeteries for viable aircraft, and that process can begin now, very soon. At least there are no obstacles for this.
These aircraft must then be repaired as needed, converted to autonomous or unmanned aircraft, and equipped with explosives. Naturally, with pilots or operators who have yet to be trained.
Given that undead planes tend to be more of a Plan B than a Plan A, the emphasis should be on preparing for conversion rather than immediate mass "resurrection". But in future conflicts, a squadron of such aircraft can become a useful addition to conventional aviation, especially in protracted wars when equipment and ammunition are literally on fire.
Interesting approach, isn't it? On the one hand, it looks like a kind of "Trishkin's caftan", on the other - why all these cemeteries of military and civil aircraft? Profit is obvious. Of course, retrofitting will cost a huge penny (the size of the Pentagon), but it will be worth it. Indeed, the mass of drones capable of destroying something on the ground, the mass of people involved, the mass of dollars spent ...
Why not? Even under the ridiculous term "necro-aviation", there can be sense. By the way, "undead aircraft" is a fairly accurate concept, if thoughtfully translated from English. A “ghost plane” is something incorporeal, and “undead” in the understanding of the Americans, on the contrary, is quite tangible. Like a zombie.
The US Air Force is already working on converting the F-16 to the QF-16, the designation "Q" stands for unguided. QF-16s are used as unmanned target aircraft, simulating high-performance enemy fighters, giving fighter pilots the ability to use live missiles against a remotely controlled target. So nothing so supernova, just Kallenborn went ahead with a proposal to arm such an aircraft, give it remote control and send it to attack.
The QF-16 robotic aircraft, armed with HARM anti-radiation missiles, is an ideal first strike weapon. Yes, these "zombies" will definitely kill everyone, but their missiles will be able to bring out a certain number of real air defense radars and thereby weaken the enemy's air defense system. Such a mission is very dangerous for an ordinary aircraft and pilot, but for the "undead" - just right.
Or (as Mizokami himself already says) a civilian liner turned into a bomb and sent to the Crimean bridge. The idea is so-so, the UAV will not fly there, not like such a carcass, but in other places it is quite possible to try such a scenario.
If Cullenborn gets his way...
And what will happen if he achieves that the old decommissioned planes get their new necro-life?
Nothing for the next 10 years. Initially, it is necessary to manufacture a certain number of sets of control systems for aircraft undead, then select these aircraft, service, prepare ...
In general, the matter is real for several years and several billion dollars. But in the end, it can turn out to be something sensible. It all depends on how you approach the process.
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