The Future of Naval Aviation and Unmanned Aircraft

Introduction: A Century of Military Aviation

In barely a century, military aviation technology developed tremendously. In its infancy, World War I reconnaissance pilots gradually became fighter pilots by taking pistols into the air to shoot at enemy reconnaissance pilots. By the end of the war, fighter aircraft were capable of speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour and boasted rapid-fire machine guns firing through the propeller blades. The world's first bombers demonstrated the tremendous military potential of strategic bombing. At the outbreak of World War II, modern navies projected their power across vast oceanic distances, and the battle between Japan and the United States for the Pacific was decided by naval airpower rather than by battleships.

Twenty-five years later, jet-powered aircraft exceeded twice the speed of sound, tracked multiple targets automatically, and enabled pilots to fire rockets at one another from distances far beyond visual recognition. Ironically, by the turn of the 21st century, the tremendous advances in military aviation had come almost full circle, again changing the fundamental nature of aerial warfare so much that most analysts predict that major naval battles will not emphasize manned aircraft for much longer.

The Rise of Naval Airpower

By the end of World War I, both the United States Navy and Britain's Royal Navy had commissioned their first dedicated aircraft carriers, after having experimented during the final years of the war with various methods of launching and recovering aircraft directly from ships at sea (Jackson, 2003; Crosby, 2007). During World War II, the war in the Pacific signaled the end of the reign of the battleship, which had been the principal manifestation and symbol of national military strength since the age of nation-states, capital ships, and the introduction of the Dreadnoughts by Britain shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Since then, the aircraft carrier has remained the primary means of projecting military power beyond American shores, serving in every war — both "hot" and "cold" — and continuing to do so today (Jackson, 2002; Jackson, 2003).

Conclusion: The Transition to Unmanned Naval Air Power

On one hand, the apparent trend in contemporary military aviation foretells the obsolescence of some of the principal missions of U.S. naval aircraft. On the other hand, U.S. naval air operations will still rely substantially on manned aircraft in the meantime, though through a greatly reduced inventory of multi-role aircraft performing all of the traditional functions of dedicated interceptors, air superiority fighters, rescue and reconnaissance aircraft, and tactical support for ground troops. The principal difference during the transition period to unmanned military aircraft in the air superiority and interceptor role is that a much smaller variety of multi-role aircraft will fulfill all of the roles that formerly required a much wider range of specialized aircraft comprising naval air wings.

References

Crosby, F. (2007). The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World. London, UK: Hermes.

Elgin, B. "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Pork!" Business Week, November 9, 2009: 46–47.

Jackson, R. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London, UK: Parragon.

Jackson, R. (2003). Modern Military Aircraft: Development, Weaponry, Specifications. Edison, NJ: Chartwell.

Lima, R. "Shoulder to Shoulder: When the Weather in Vietnam Kept Most Aircraft Grounded, the Navy Sent in the Grumman A-6." Smithsonian Air & Space, Vol. 24, No. 1, (May/June 2009): 33–37.