Expendable Remotely Piloted Vehicles for Strategic Offensive ...

Relative Ranks for Fewer Design Constraints AreaManned AircraftCruise MissilesReusable Remotely Piloted VehiclesExpendable Remotely Piloted Vehicles◦●●Flight DurationFlight duration is a disadvantage for existing strategic attack systemsbut for diff e rent reasons. Manned aircraft are limited in flight durationdue to the physical endurance of a human pilot. Cruise missiles arelimited by their relatively short-range capability and lack of flexibilityfor missions of longer duration. RPVs, reusable and expendable, are capableof enduring extended flight. This offers the potential to supportsurveillance, communication and data relay, as well as many otherf u n c t i o n s . 3 0Relative Ranks for Flight Duration AreaManned AircraftCruise MissilesReusable Remotely Piloted VehiclesExpendable Remotely Piloted Vehicles◦◦●●Payload FlexibilityPayload flexibility is a disadvantage for cruise missiles due to lack of manin-the-loopcontrol. In addition to reconnaissance and strategic attack packages,designers have planned and designed nonlethal payloads for UAV s .For example, re s e a rchers have proposed and designed a variety of payloadssuch as moving target indicators; electronic intelligence; electronic counterme a s u res; decoy; communications intelligence; jamming; laser designatorand range finder; mine detection; search and rescue; communications anddata relay; psychological operations; and nuclear, biological, and chemical(NBC) sensors. 3 1 Because of the lack of a human on board, RPVs are moreideal than manned aircraft to carry certain payloads (e.g., NBC sensors) intopotentially hostile air and space enviro n m e n t s .Relative Ranks for Payload Flexibility AreaManned AircraftCruise MissilesReusable Remotely Piloted VehiclesExpendable Remotely Piloted Vehicles●◦●●46