Repost: sorry about the previous subject line goof. {8-[
Spike Jones wrote:
> Found this in Aerospace Daily. Is this the first time in history
> a machine has been armed? spike
>
> PREDATOR FIRES HELLFIRE MISSILE IN FIRST TEST
> OF WEAPONIZED UAV: The weaponization of Unmanned
> Aerial Vehicles may officially be underway with a Predator
> launching a live Hellfire missile in a test on Wednesday at Nellis
> Air Force Base Range, NV. The test was conducted jointly by
> the Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC) and Aeronautical
> Systems Center. In the live-fire test, Predator was commanded
> via a Ku-band satellite link, out of the line of sight of ground
> controllers. During this test - a fairly accurate representation of
> how the UAV is controlled during real operations - Predator
> used the "Kosovo ball," an infrared sensor with a laser designator
> attached to the aircraft so named because of its use in Kosovo.
> The RQ-1A Predator flew to 2000 feet, lased its own target,
> fired its live Hellfire missile and completely immobilized its target,
> blowing the track off a tank. While the missile hit "a few inches"
> below an inert previous shot that morning, the Air Force still
> deemed the mission a terrific success, as it marked the first time
> ever a UAV had fired a live weapon, the ACC spokesman said.
> A weaponized Predator, the brainchild of Gen. John P. Jumper,
> ACC's top commander, is being tested to examine the feasibility
> of using a UAV to fire missiles.
> (Aerospace Daily)
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