^ The future of warfare lies within what looks like an overgrown toy airplane. Watch as we dissect the Predator system, from the Ground Control Station in Las Vegas to a Ku Band satellite in orbit, then back down to the Predator in-flight over the battlefield.
- Behind The Technology
This is where some of our U.S. taxpayer dollars go. I'll not get into the whole political and ethical discussion over this (that would be another blog entirely), but instead state that I find it intriguing how we've been moving on in terms of warfare strategy and technology. It's a kind of hands off approach, piloting the drone planes from thousands of miles away in undisclosed locations.
The virtual pilots camp inside a portable bunker outfitted with the most cutting edge technology and satellite communications. The planes themselves cost a cool $3.8 million each, with more being produced. In service they provide a scout's view for the benefit of ground military, searching for any signs of opposition miles away and dealing with them as needed.
Recently these drones have even been credited with disposing of Iranian drones over Iraq, possible evidence of Iran supplying Iraqi militant groups with weapons. The introduction of drone plane warfare throws the already volatile U.S. relations with Iran into even more precarious territory.
The virtual pilots camp inside a portable bunker outfitted with the most cutting edge technology and satellite communications. The planes themselves cost a cool $3.8 million each, with more being produced. In service they provide a scout's view for the benefit of ground military, searching for any signs of opposition miles away and dealing with them as needed.Recently these drones have even been credited with disposing of Iranian drones over Iraq, possible evidence of Iran supplying Iraqi militant groups with weapons. The introduction of drone plane warfare throws the already volatile U.S. relations with Iran into even more precarious territory.
^ Ace Combat 6 (Xbox 360) | YouTube clip showing multiplayer action.
It's eerie how video game-like this technology is. Inside the secretly located bunkers, the pilots sit in front of several screens (as shown in the video) and are visually informed with real time locations, cameras, weather reports, infrared scans, and other kinds of surveillance simultaneously. Not much different from how we hardcore gamers do it in our little cubbyholes for hours on end.
At a glance there's no difference between what you see in these bunkers and what you see as you play a game like Ace Combat 6 at home. But of course, the true difference is that one is just a video game.
The other is absolutely not.
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