One of the concerns expressed by young future fighter pilots expressed on our forums is just how long will the services keep on flying manned fighter jets. With UCAVs providing advantages like being able to fly for 36 hours at a time and being so quick and light not having a human pilot and life support systems on board, it might often seem like the future of air combat might take place in a booth with the “pilot” controlling his craft remotely.
That pretty much already is happening in the area of global reconnaissance, but the services know better than to think that a human presence in the air will ever not be necessary.
There is also good news for all of you F-22 fans out there! Not only is the House Armed Services Committee contemplating building even more F-22 Raptors to counter the threats currently being posed by North Korea and Russia, but they are also projecting that the Raptor will be flying all the way up to the year 2060, twice as long as F-15s and F-16s have currently been flying!
It doesn’t matter if your in middle school right now or getting ready to graduate college; throughout your ENTIRE career years, there is going to be a need for pilots in the cockpits of manned jet fighters. There are even schematics on the drawing boards for 6th generation fighters down the road; 6th generation MANNED fighters with pilots in the cockpit!
Don’t get me wrong, technology is great! I have nothing but admiration for the physicists and engineers who come up with amazing aerial technology and weapons and defense systems that are literally carrying our boys and girls in uniform into the space age. But as long as there in a need for air combat maneuvering, even if it does go beyond visual range, there will always be a need for pilots in the cockpit, just as there will always be a need for troops on the ground.
Remember, those troops on the ground and the ships at sea are the reason fighter pilots do what they do. The whole point of aerial combat is to support THEM, and it takes human beings to support human beings (with technology giving us some pretty cool tools with which to do that.)
Even if you’re only 13 years old right now, it’s a pretty good bet that the F-22 Raptor will be flying until you have grey hair! But you sure as heck don’t have to wait that long to get into the cockpit of one.
Think that actually flying in an F-22 is just a pipe dream? Think again!
If you pay attention to the news, you’ll see that there are new potential threats on the horizon that have prompted all of this talk about new Raptors being built and extending their lifespan.
And they will need PILOTS to fly them! They will need YOU!
Joins us on the Afterburner Club to find out how YOU can get yourself into the cockpit of a brand new Raptor! The opportunities are there…you just have to know the path to success and take action to make it happen!
Semper Fi!