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[email protected]

wrote:
On Sat, 3 Jun 2006 22:33:09 +0100, "Paul J. Adam"
wrote:

snipped for brevity

I've got a question, Paul. How susceptible would these UAVs be to a
good, old fashioned "thumping"? I guess the question would go to any
of the experienced fighter guys, too.

What would the downwash from a Lynx at 170kts. do to a UAV,
particularly a small, lightly built one? If you put it into an
"unusual attitude" is the software sophisticated enough to deal with
that (particularly the "autonomous UAV)? Are they sufficiently
stressed to handle the airframe loads generated by a recovery from an
"unusual attitude"?

I've seen some of the airframe damage that "thumping" can cause (at
least one cracked windscreen on an E-2, compliments of an F-4
afterburner). While the Chinese proved that trying "thump" an EP-3 is
not a producitve enterprise how about something small and lightly
built?

Do we even need to shoot the *******s?
No. Unless the *******s mount some sort of sensor to detect a close-by
helicopter or rapidly closing fighter and decide to shoot something
nasty its way. Minimal range (couple of hundred meters) will do. Don't
even need to mount it on all UAVs ($$ reasons), just on say 20%, so
your helicopter/fighter will learn soon enough it's not wise to come
too close. The warhead does not even need to be heavy enough to ensure
kill, just to make considerable damage/mission kill probable.
Alternatively, make the primary weapon of the UAV to be a versaitile
short range missile(s) and reuse it for such self-defence as well.

Will mess up also with your 'gunning' them down discussion, if you had
to shoot at them from far away.

Acoustically detecting that a helicopter is nearby is really not that
tough...
For the really short range you need (to prevent a fighter to destroy
you by its wake turbulence) there might be several simple and cheap
detection/targetting methods available.

Stefan
Bill Kambic
Haras Lucero, Kingston, TN
Mangalarga Marchador: Uma Raça, Uma Paixão