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Comment by kcen | Hacker News Reader

It takes just as many people to fly a robo-F16 as it does to fly a manned F16. Only difference is that the pilot is on the ground instead of in the air.

Also the unmanned F16 provides 0 advantages over a purpose built UAV (plus is bigger, slower, and more expensive), I highly doubt anybody would seriously consider these for warfare applications.

It's cool tech, take it at face value.

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I imagine it can carry a bigger payload, so there's that advantage. Apparently we have a bunch of them in storage too, so it might be cheaper to convert them than to build new UAVs. It must be, if they're cheap enough to use for live target practice. Better to turn them into UAVs than let them rust while we build new UAVs, or sell them to other countries.

I don't know how much bigger that payload will be. Assuming the components to turn it into a UAV weigh 0 lbs, you're talking about a ~160 lb pilot in a 26,000 lb jet.

In case you ever see my reply: I was thinking that the F-16 is much larger and more powerful than a typical UAV, so it's built to carry more ordinance. But, I know next to nothing about the different military jet versions. I've since read in other comments that the F-16 was primarily a fighter-intercepter and not a fighter-bomber, so I guess it carries guns and air-to-air missiles rather than heavy bombs.

You are forgetting about all the life support systems that no longer need to be included / maintained. Oxygen tanks, ejector seat, etc.

>Only difference is that the pilot is on the ground instead of in the air.

Seems that removing humans from harm's way on one side of the conflict would have pretty big implications wrt high level decision-making.

>I highly doubt anybody would seriously consider these for warfare applications.

Are you saying that Iarger fighters no longer have utility as opposed to purpose-built UAVs?

Beyond all the life support you can now remove, the unmanned can now pull G's that would be unsustainable for a manned plane.

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