Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Rockwell Collins CEO: ex-fighter pilot sees need for pilotless aircraft
On the surface, it would appear that a fighter pilot would have little interest in a remotely piloted aircraft, which more and more are being used in wars for reconnaissance and firing missiles.
It isn’t too big a leap to wonder whether in the future perhaps drones will take away jobs from fighter pilots.
But Rockwell Collins Chief Executive Officer Clay Jones, a former fighter pilot, says there is room for both.
“Technology marches on. Obviously I have a great affinity for keeping a human in the loop. And I think a human will always be in the loop in some aircraft because there are certain missions that require a human to make judgments, and to do what only a human being can do, in the say heat of battle,” he said in an interview at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit.
“I mean it’s hard to see a UAV having enough situational awareness to do a dogfight, as an example,” Jones said. “However, unmanned aerial vehicles have certainly proven their merit in a number of missions, like reconnaissance.”
“So I think that there’s a clear opportunity for both types of systems to exist in the force structure,” Jones said.
Jones flew F-4 and F-15 fighter jets from 1972 to 1979 in the post-Vietnam period, he did not see combat. He still very much has the straight-shouldered posture of a fighter pilot and can’t hide his delight at how “very, very cool” the holographic image looks on the helmet visor of the F-35 which with the turn of the head will guide the radar. “Real Buck Rogers stuff,” he enthused.
A drone by any other name…
The drone that was formerly known as the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has a new name — the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA).
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Air Force leadership discussed it and made a commitment to use the new term, although it does take some getting used to. “The more we use it, the more comfortable we get with it,” he said in an interview at a Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit.
There was a reason for the name change. “To recognize more clearly that these systems are not unmanned, that there is a pilot, there is a sensor operator,” Donley said.
The Air Force wants to impress on the Federal Aviation Administration and the aerospace community that manages the air in the continental United States “that we’ve got positive control over these vehicles,” Donley said.
As for the requirements to fly the unpersonned aircraft, those are still developing.
“It’s not just video gaming but you have to have piloting skills to operate these aircraft and we want the operators to be certified in an FAA-like system going forward,” Donley said.
“It’s not just a flat screen, you’ve got to have flying skills that go with it,” he said. Do they need the high-performance fighter training? “Maybe not,” Donley said.
WIll people get confused and think a remotely piloted vehicle may be something the bomb squads use? Maybe it should be remotely piloted aerial vehicles.
