George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 56

< 55 >

The recent pace of UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] development felt like wings had sprouted on their backs. The demands far exceeded the performance of the MQ-1 Predator, so General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, already developing the MQ-9 Reaper, didn’t have the capacity to handle other projects. They decided to focus on the MQ-9 and withdrew from the ‘Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program’ pushed by President Bush.

Instead, NASA, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, whose development of the F-22 Raptor was nearing completion, were brought into the next-generation UAV project.

Thanks to this, the UAV project turned into a budget-eating monster. However, after the usefulness of UAVs in the Afghanistan War and their potential for saving the defense budget were proven, Congress no longer challenged the budget and instead strongly supported UAV development.

However, the increase in budget and the difficulty of development rose hand in hand, and the reason for this was President George W. Bush’s ambitious demands.

“Does this damn president think we’re some kind of technology vending machine where we just put in money and ‘poof! Results appear!’?”

In fact, Bush’s demands weren’t that complicated in principle. He wanted to create full-fledged unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). Bush had in mind aircraft like the MQ-4 Global Hawk, RQ-170 Sentinel, and X-47B. The development team, however, was initially thinking of technology demonstrators based on the existing MQ-1 Predator’s data or fuselage, or simply enhanced versions of it, which is why they were so frustrated. They felt Bush’s vision was too far-reaching for the current technology.

On the surface, it didn’t seem impossible. After all, with the increased budget, manpower and resources also increased. One might think, ‘With unlimited budget and unlimited production capacity, wouldn’t it be stranger if they couldn’t do it?’ In fact, except for those in Congress who knew how the development was actually progressing, that’s exactly what they thought.

But the core problem was that there wasn’t enough time to properly integrate and refine that unlimited manpower and resources. Rushing the process was leading to inefficiencies and increased challenges.

When broadly classifying the components of a UAV, there are six main categories: the ‘fuselage’ that forms the airframe, the ‘powerplant and engine’ that provides propulsion, the ‘sensors’ that act as its eyes and ears, the ‘actuators’ that control movement, the ‘autopilot’ which serves as the brain, and the ‘software’ that oversees and integrates these hardware components.

The fuselage design is typically the result of a long and iterative process, but in this case, there was a critical lack of time. The power and engine, sensors, and actuators to be used are all determined once the shape and size of the fuselage are established. And once a mockup is made, and you know what parts to use, then you can create the autopilot or write the software, right? It’s a sequential process that requires careful planning and execution.

Moreover, it was uncertain whether existing technology could even be adapted. They might have to develop everything from scratch specifically for UAVs, even down to the smallest components like screws. In fact, that was highly likely, given the ambitious performance targets that the President demanded.

And then there was encryption. President Bush was inexplicably obsessed with encryption, demanding the highest level of security for systems that might have functioned perfectly well with a standard level of encryption. This added another layer of complexity and cost to the project.

He presented these challenges and then asked:

“You can do it, right?”

“Wh-what the hell! Is he even serious!?”

Of course, if these advanced UAVs were actually realized, they could play a variety of crucial roles on the battlefield, performing maneuvers that exceeded human limits. In other words, if they could achieve diverse maneuverability that completely ignored G-force limitations, manned fighter jets themselves would soon become obsolete in air combat missions.

Furthermore, manned fighter jets had a fundamental flaw: the ‘human’ pilot. Human evolution proceeds slowly over millions of years, making it impossible to keep up with the rapid pace of technological development.

The G-force experienced during sharp ascents and turns can cause a pilot to lose consciousness or eyesight when it exceeds just 5G [five times the force of gravity]. If the breathing technique is slightly off, the pilot can black out, and even a slight mistake can result in blood rushing to the extremities and blood vessels bursting.

As the pilot’s body wears out and reaches its physical limits, the dark blue sky remains only as a fading memory of youth. Aircraft that have escaped the limitations of human physiology were therefore incredibly attractive.

In fact, this is from the perspective of the development team. The story changes when viewed from the perspective of an administrator who sees the world in terms of numbers and budgets. The UAV’s surprisingly low price is far more attractive than the fact that it has escaped the limits of human pilots.

The MQ-1 Predator costs only $5 million per unit. Even with the cost of hastily expanded facilities ordered by executive decree, it was still very cheap compared to the cost of training and maintaining a combat pilot. To properly train and deploy a combat pilot requires an astronomical amount of time and budget. And if there’s a battle or an accident, that astronomical investment could go up in smoke in an instant.

But there was no need to worry about UAVs. They can be operated remotely by simply holding a controller in a safe office, far from the dangers of the battlefield.

Of course, UAVs are not perfect weapon systems, and they have their flaws. Although it is not widely known now, there were issues such as the extreme PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] experienced by UAV pilots, hacking vulnerabilities due to inadequate encryption, and physiological problems caused by the absence of G-force, which can affect spatial awareness and decision-making.

But at this point in time, people were primarily focused on the bright side of UAVs and their potential benefits.

Anyway, putting aside the pros and cons of UAVs, let’s go back to the development team, who, after receiving the President’s executive order, were complaining about their difficulties. No, they were practically throwing up from the stress.

“What on earth does our President want to do? Is he going to dominate the Earth with the Air Force?”

Bush’s well-known obsession with the Air Force, whether it stemmed from his own Air Force background or a simple fascination with airplanes, was undeniable. Every American knew that he had ridden in an F-22 Raptor to inspect Air Force bases and flown to Korea in an F-18 Hornet.

In fact, the proportion of people on Earth who *didn’t* know this fact was vanishingly small.

“He’s already half doing it.”

He skillfully maneuvered the carrier fleet like an extension of his own body and pursued aggressive diplomacy, to the point where he was almost dominating the Earth. And although the carrier fleet technically belonged to the Navy, its primary mission was to secure air supremacy and conduct bombing operations through carrier-based aircraft, effectively making it an extension of the Air Force’s capabilities.

“Still, the MQ-9 Reaper is somewhat better. At least there’s a real prototype flying.”

Fortunately for them, the MQ-9 Reaper already had a prototype in the air. It completed its first flight around February 2001 and was now undergoing testing with various payloads and configurations. The MQ-9 Reaper was an enhanced version of the MQ-1 Predator and could be considered a combat-capable variant.

“But you’re saying our President isn’t satisfied with that.”

“What the hell is a ‘satellite on the ground’ in the requirements? How are we supposed to achieve that?”

Among these ambitious goals, the concept that Northrop Grumman took on was a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.

“Isn’t it roughly similar to the U-2 Dragon Lady?”

The U-2 is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed with the philosophy of ‘try to hit it if you can.’ The concept is similar to the SR-71 Blackbird, but while the SR-71 embodied that concept with a speed of Mach 3.3, the U-2 achieved it with sheer altitude.

Of course, when compared to the SR-71, the high-altitude reconnaissance capabilities that the U-2 boasts also pale in comparison, but this is primarily because the U-2 was developed in 1950 and the SR-71 in 1964, resulting in a significant difference in technology.

In any case, these two aircraft were essentially stars in the sky, leisurely scouting enemy territory and disappearing from altitudes of around 85,000 feet, or about 26 kilometers above the Earth. Even if you launched a missile at them, the missile’s range might not be sufficient, and even if it was, the aircraft would likely have already escaped, making them difficult to intercept.

And in reality, what Bush demanded was essentially the same concept as the U-2. What Bush had in mind was the MQ-4 Global Hawk, or, in simpler terms, an aircraft that could monitor the ground like a game mini-map from an ultra-high altitude that missiles and manned fighter jets couldn’t reach.

“Wow, he wants us to make this by the end of his term? Has our President completely lost touch with reality?”

“I think he’s doing this knowing it probably won’t work.”

Of course, Bush was planning on ‘8 years’ for his term with reelection, so he said it with a light heart, but to them, it sounded like they had to make it within ‘4 years’.

“He’s promising too much for that.”

“That’s true.”

Of course, these large-scale projects cannot be done solely by the President, so they had to persuade Congress, which can be briefly summarized as follows:

‘We happen to have a cash cow called China. Shall we divert some of the budget? Where would be good? Aha, if a battlefield without people appears in the future, we can drastically cut the budget going to pensions!’

“Ah, damn it. Why don’t they do something about the infrastructure instead?”

“If you have time to complain like that, come up with another concept. I don’t have a clue, not a clue.”

In that way, the vague concepts, necessary specifications, and expected specs began to take concrete shape, and the resulting data was compiled into a report and sent to the Department of Defense, the sponsor, and finally ended up in Bush’s hands.

“This is the Global Hawk?”

The problem was that the President who received the concept had a dumbfounded expression.

‘No! I told you to make a satellite on the ground, why did you make a penetration reconnaissance aircraft!’

The mission performed by the MQ-4 Global Hawk, the satellite on the ground that Bush demanded, was quite different from that of the U-2. If the U-2 is an aircraft that performs penetration reconnaissance ‘above enemy territory’, the MQ-4’s job was to provide a persistent, wide-area surveillance capability within ‘friendly airspace’.

Also, it was meant to loiter slowly and for a long time until the fuel runs out, for more than 24 hours. It was something that a person who needs three meals and guaranteed sleep could never do.

‘Damn it. I’m going crazy.’

The concept in Bush’s hand was not a Global Hawk, but something closer to a Sentinel. No, not even a Sentinel, but similar to the X-47 Pegasus, the predecessor of the early X-47B. It was actually openly called the successor to the U-2.

‘Well, this is definitely necessary.’

The problem is that if this happens, they have to proceed with both the Global Hawk and the X-47 at the same time, and it was doubtful whether Northrop Grumman had the capacity to carry out two projects that were treated almost separately.

Of course, since the concept of penetration reconnaissance overlaps, it is more logical to push the RQ-170 Sentinel, which was on Lockheed Martin’s report, rather than the X-47. Because the X-47 was a scrapped project. However, it cannot be denied that the development experience of the X-47 later became the foundation for the next-generation unmanned reconnaissance bomber, the ‘RQ-180’.

They had to choose and concentrate their efforts, but they didn’t want to miss out on any potential advancements.

Choose between the RQ-180 and the Global Hawk?

And so, the answer that came out was surprisingly simple and ignorant.

“Then we can put more budget into Northrop Grumman and grind more people!”

Why do you have to choose one of the two in the first place? Isn’t that a flawed premise from the beginning?

The way of thinking was slowly resembling that of a silver spoon who doesn’t understand the realities of the world. Of course, he wasn’t a silver spoon, but just a gold animal, but the problem was that he was the most powerful gold animal in the world, so no one dared to challenge him.

“Still, I’m starting to see it.”

The UAV system that Kim Gap-hwan remembered from 2019 was beginning to take shape. Of course, there were differences in the details, but the major premise remained the same.

‘What is it? Can I see the engineers dying from overwork?’

However, only the Chief of Staff fully understood the tragedy that would unfold behind the scenes.