Title : UCAV - The Next Generation Air-Superiority Fighter?
Corporate Author : AIR UNIV MAXWELL AFB AL SCHOOL OF ADVANCED AIRPOWER STUDIES
Personal Author(s) : Lewis, William K
Full Text : http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a420631.pdf
Report Date : Jun 2002
Pagination or Media Count : 110
Abstract : Air superiority is an essential military mission, and
will continue to be so for the foreseeable future, Control of the air is
not an end of its own, but rather it provides the flexibility and
freedom of action central to a full range of military capabilities In
the coming century the United States will confront a number of disparate
and ambiguous challenges to its hegemony The resources available to
meet those challenges will undoubtedly be constrained, Extremely long
lead times in the acquisition and procurement of new technologies mean
that now, as the F-22 Raptor begins to replace the venerable F-15 Eagle,
the next- generation air-superiority fighter is entering development
Unmanned aircraft must be considered as an alternative to manned
aircraft for this critical mission, While cost has been the driving
factor for advances in UCAV, technology has been the major limitation
This thesis concludes that an air-superiority UCAV should be feasible by
the year 2025 and that it should provide an effective and affordable
alternative to manned air-superiority fighters,
