Will UAVs make human pilots obsolete?

Question

We know that UAVs are developing rapidly in the military and creeping into the civilian market. Airliners almost fly themselves. To what extent do you think UAV will take jobs away from human pilots 10-15 years down the line?

Answer 1

not for a LONG time, except maybe in fairly routine jobs. A UAV with a remote pilot/controller maybe (more like current set-ups). But the control systems aren't there to make UAVs safe enough or flexible enough to replace human pilots for complicated tasks.

For example, send a UAV out on a scouting mission with instructions to destroy pickup trucks, later on you get information that the target is in a red pickup truck. If that capability was never programmed in, there is no way to tell it to only attack certain color targets. Examples like this can go on and on. Running off of computers and software will end up with a rigid set of rules and very distinct limits on what it can and can't do, which will limit its usefulness.

Answer 2

Let me answer with a question.  Would you get on an airplane without a pilot? I would not.  Maybe in the far future they will have a pilot in a glass tube and issue hammers to the passengers with the notation "Break in case of Emergency"

Answer 3

uav's can never take over the intelligence, and reactions of humans. especially in aerial combat, human pilots can make decisions that computers cant...

Answer 4

None at all.

Humans are still needed in emergency situations, there creative thinking is required.  

Just look at the Lufthansa flight that landed in the storm the other day.  No way that could have been done in a UAV.  I don't believe it could be done in the future either.

When I was in the USAF, we had an F-15 get hit with lightning, that actually knocked it's port wing completely off the airframe.  The pilot, through reconfiguring the breakers and a few other tricks, actually landed the thing safely.  There are pics of it around the net.

No, UAV's, by virtue of not having a human on board, will not be able to react fast enough in many situations.

Answer 5

I hope so. 85% of all accidents involve pilot error. We mammals need replacing. It's coming.

Answer 6

No let's take for example an emergency..... One that happens inside the plane. Let's say a passenger gets a heart attack or a seizure....... The computer will not do anything. What can it do... It wasn't programmed to handle those emergencies. So it will just fly. The passenger might die. You will always need a human to fly. Even if all they have to do is just sit there. Also what if the plane's systems fail. That means the computers fail. So then you have a uncontrolled aircraft flying around. The last reason is that What kind of passenger would want a robot welcoming them to their flight in some creepy voice. So to answer your question. No we will never have fully-computer controlled aircraft.

Answer 7

Yes.....Sooner or later.  You will see the two pilot concept abandoned at some point, then down the line, wayyyy down the line, no pilot. You will see the pilot on the ground monitoring several flights via TV and remote.

Answer 8

Nope. It still takes a himan to fly one. They are just on the ground.

Answer 9

The answer to that is "no". Tactical situation is fluid, and there's a "command lag" if UAV is remote controlled. So far we're fighting against unsophisticated foes who can't jam our control signals. If we ever fight someone high tech again, or if the bad guys learn to back-track signals, we're be forced to remote from further away, which makes command lag EVEN WORSE.

What I anticipate happening is B-2 becoming motherships for UAVs, escorted by other UAVs and perhaps some manned F-22s or F-35s. And B-2 will fly closer to ops area to minimize the lag, with UAV operators onboard.