"...drones now account for 31 percent of all [US] military aircraft."

[eyer]

Remember when the military actually put human beings in the cockpits of its planes? They still do, but in far fewer numbers. According to a new congressional report acquired by Danger Room, drones now account for 31 percent of all military aircraft.

To be fair, lots of those drones are tiny flying spies, like the Army’s Raven, that could never accommodate even the most diminutive pilot. (Specifically, the Army has 5,346 Ravens, making it the most numerous military drone by far.) But in 2005, only five percent of military aircraft were robots, a report by the Congressional Research Service notes. Barely seven years later, the military has 7,494 drones. Total number of old school, manned aircraft: 10,767 planes.

A small sliver of those nearly 7,500 drones gets all of the attention. The military owns 161 Predators — the iconic flying strike drone used over Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere — and Reapers, the Predator’s bigger, better-armed brother.

But even as the military’s bought a ton of drones in the past few years, the Pentagon spends much, much more money on planes with people in them. Manned aircraft still get 92 percent of the Pentagon’s aircraft procurement money. Still, since 2001, the military has spent $26 billion on drones, the report — our Document of the Day — finds.

More @

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-ne...-is-a-robot-7494-drones-and-counting_01122012

 

[unregistered]

 

[eyer]

That's like saying the biggest percentage of ammunition rounds in the arsenal are small caliber, the utility of which is different.

Interesting...

...I simply read it as saying how many drones the US military utilizes today, while highlighting the corresponding increased use of them.

 

[unregistered]

 

[eyer]

...since 2001, the military has spent $26 billion on drones

11 years, $26 billion = $2.36 billion / year on drones.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkK7BikdwTjIt7cFCUWXhI344vJ79SKO7lb0XdsYNMF3LOCMfc

Unless America miraculously recovers from its debt crisis...

...the stickboys in front of the monitors will be the overwhelming majority of future "pilots".

BTW:

Have you read where the Marine F-35C (C = the carrier variant of the $1 trillion F35 program, the most expensive weapons project in history) failed all 8 of its wire snags due - reportedly - to a design flaw in its tail hook?

 

[Mike_Yates]

More @

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-ne...-is-a-robot-7494-drones-and-counting_01122012

The entire US military will be unmanned and mechanized.

 

[unregistered]

 

[eyer]

No but these kinds of problems accompany every new combat weapons programs. If you remember the Abrams, Bradley, AH-64, all were panned on 60 Minutes as sure failures on the battlefield early on.

Do you consider the economic times we're experiencing today relative to the economic times those systems were developed in?

Some projections have the total cost of the F-35 program, begun in 2006, at over $1 trillion so far...

...that's a 15th of our current debt.

Something like 83 F-35s (all of 3 variants) are in use so far...

...that's out of a scheduled deployment of over 2,000.

Where's the money going to come from to pay for those?

Or...

...after already maxing-out our children and grandchildren, do we just keep on charging our great-grandchildren for what we can't pay for today?

 

[renard_ruse]

The entire US military will be unmanned and mechanized.

Good, better than having women and gays fighting. This is actually good news.

 

[unregistered]

 

[TexasWife25]

Good, better than having women and gays fighting. This is actually good news.

Im thinking of starting a "Stupid things renard_ruse says" thread.... darn.. I bet there already is one, I'll have to check...

 

[eyer]

Where will the money come from to defend our freedom? Is there any expenditure of government revenue more important than what is required for the defense of our nation and our people? How did the nation afford the spending that financed WWII? In comparison we spend much much less today.

We were specifically posting about the F-35 program...

...not the overall defense of America.

I truly wish I could post I'm not surprised at the large, dramatic leap...

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Vette says: "These are not the drones you are looking for..."



Now all we need is a generation of teen boys raised on violent video games sans moral.

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Obama just spent damn near 5 trillion and never batted an eye.

AND! he's going to ask for $1.6trillion more while cutting all non-drone assets. I think he's become addicted.


They've begun remaking Beavis and Butthead; one episode is them getting hold of drones and playing video games with them...

Funny shit, man!

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I think there are too many drones on the White House staff as well.

Wall Street Hatters; got a new one from BAIN I see...

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I'll bet ol' Bain is on the big political friend list called TOO BIG TO FAIL...

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

No doubt. Democrat infrastructure is too big to fail, no matter how small.

I guess it doesn't pay to be Haliburton, so you send those jobs overseas...

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Speaking of overseas, I see the Chinese economy is scheduled for a trip to the dumper this year. At least that's what somebody on Bloomberg just said.

I've been following that.

Now Greece is saying that some of their creditors are going to have to bend over like GM bondholders and take it up the ass...


GE, I wonder who their "creditors" are?


Portugal is following them to the exit, egress, oh happy days...,

 

[unregistered]