Hi guys,

Just read a interessting article about the use of drones in the US military (e.g. last year the US trained more personal on the use of UAVs than "real" pilots).

I'm looking for a decent simulator that simulates the use of drones. Are there any? I know of VBS2 and ArmA have drones and there is an addon for FSX, which I don't know.

Jens

The only other one I can think of is Steel Beasts Pro but that's an expensive way in to just play with the UAV.

Fighters Anthology

Folks,

Jens:

UAV driver...I would say that particular job is one we've all been unknowingly training for for years. Sign us up!

I have it but I do not remember UAVs in Jane's Fighter's Anthology. That's moot for me because I understand that FA will not run under XP. I dunno about Vista or 7.

I don't think there is a realistic sim. Especially since most folks don't realize that most of operations are on autopilot and there is another crew member that controls camera.

Here's a rather in-depth look on a real thing.

http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2008/02/creech-afb-uav-operations/

Folks,

Sim:

Thanks for that comprehensive and well illustrated article. I have posted that on our HWH thread as well.

I wonder why no one has published a UAV sim? That seems the perfect flight sim as, unlike present sims that cannot model Gs for instance, it would be completely realistic from nearly every perspective. You could make all kinds of things go boom. Of course you would have to take turns with the AI running the camera or flying. I suppose long autopilot missions would seem boring unless augmented in some way.

I saw an interesting clip on TV about small UAVs that cannot be seen or heard on the ground from 2000 feet. They can be carried by a man in something that looks like a large gun case and even launched from that same carrier.

We lament the end of piloted fighters of course but one day there will be fighter drones. I understand they already have prototypes flying. And surely as UAVs show up in the arsenal of our enemies there will be developed something like "killer " drones and drones that can defend themselves; don't you think? Maybe we already have those? I bet we do, on the drawing board anyway.

We already have "killer" drones.

I'd be interested in an UAV sim too, but I don't think there is one.

Folks,

HD:

Yes, as recent headlines clearly indicate, of course we do have and we have had for some time "killer" drones but they are not, as far as I know, tasked to 'kill' other drones. For at the moment there is no need for this, which is what I meant. Somewhat like way back in the Franco Prussian War when Krupp shot down those enemy balloons; When both sides of a conflict have drones surveying the battlefield these craft will have to fight each other or be able to defend themselves. Naturally there are many other ways of dealing with pesky enemy drones as well.

It has been suggested that we already have un-manned fighters either on the drawing boards of some "skunkworks" somewhere or perhaps there may even be prototypes flying. It is not too difficult these days to conceive of dogfights of some sort between un-manned craft perhaps even above the atmosphere.

It isn't likely the grunt on the ground will be replaced any time soon. You can't take and hold real estate without soldiers and I do not know of any robot soldiers being on the boards or in production. That still remains in the realm of SF.

There is a new simulator currently on the market, Zephyr was released late last year and has a multitude of training modules to effectively and efficiently teach new pilots how to fly. You can use your own transmitter (with a trainer port), a USB simulator controller, or a gaming controller. It also runs on Mac computers! Zephyr is currently being sold at a discounted price at Zephyr Drone Simulator for a limited time!

Arma3 drones is not too "simulator" but give a good idea of military operation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80cG3r6Slws