All readers will surely have heard about the unmanned aerial vehiclesthe so-called RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System), drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). The usual image we have is of the aircraft created specifically to fly without a pilot, which allows for simplify the design by eliminating the need to include life support systems, space for people, cabin pressurisation (essential for flying above a certain altitude), air conditioning systems, waste disposal systems and other amenities for humans.
There is currently reluctance to accept that aircraft can be flown without a human pilot.
However, there is another way to build a UAV by transforming a manned aircraft. providing it with a fully autonomous or supervised navigation system by a ground control station. The advantage of this option is the re-use of knowledge of air programmes at the level of design, maintenance, airworthiness, fleet standardisation, etc.
The space exploration, pioneer in so many fields, it is also in the autonomous control of aircraft designed to be manned. The need arose from evidence of the danger of experimental spaceflight. The Soviet Union developed its own space shuttle programme called Buran. On the inaugural test flight in 1988 it made two full orbits around the Earth and landed successfully at the Kazakhstan Cosmodrome. The cabin was pressurised with nitrogen to reduce the risk of an explosion and the flight was supervised from the Moscow control centre in case the spacecraft made a navigational decision that could be considered dangerous. Unfortunately the project was cancelled prematurely due to lack of funds and no further flights were made.
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force are currently working on a joint programme to converting the F16 fighter jet into a military UAVwhich has been named the QF-16. In September 2013, one of these aircraft made its first test flight at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. Two air force test pilots controlled the fighter from the ground. For this first test, a training flight was simulated with all kinds of evasion and attack manoeuvres. The reliability of the systems and their accuracy when flying at supersonic speeds - the fighter is capable of over 2,400 km/h - were also tested. A major milestone occurred on 29 August 2014 when a QF-16 was able to single-handedly dodge a missile launched against it. The air force's idea is to use the QF-16 in aerial combat to make the most of the fighter's technology and not put human lives at risk. Prior to the F16, the air force also conducted several such flights by converting an F4 Phantom fighter into an unmanned aircraft, which it called the QF-4.
What new uses could be made of the transformation of aircraft into UAVs? It could be used for cargo flights, because of the great advantage of the savings in life support systems. But there is still a long way to go because, in addition to the technical difficulties for the navigation system to satisfactorily interpret all the flight variables, there is also human reluctance to accept that aircraft can be steered without a human pilot.
