Not sure if I am wrong... The predator itself may of been American Design.... but UAVs were pioneered by Israel in the 1980s... americans would be up the creek if it wasnt for their designs...

From Wikipedia:

History

The earliest such craft were developed after World War I, and they were attempting to use during the Second World War to train anti-aircraft gunners. Nevertheless, they were little more than full-sized remote controlled airplanes until the late 20th century. Lately, interest in such craft has grown within the higher echelons of the US military, as they offer the possibility of cheaper, more capable fighting machines that can be used without risk to aircrews. Initial generations have primarily been surveillance aircraft, but some have already been fitted with weaponry (such as the RQ-1 Predator, which has been fitted with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles). The military envisions that more and more roles will be performed by unmanned aircraft, initially bombing and ground attack, with air-to-air combat expected to be the last domain of the fighter pilot for now. A weaponized UAV is known as an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, or UCAV for short.

The Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) have pioneered the production and usage of UAV for military purposes, as early as 1982. The IMI Scout UAV System has played an important combat role both in the service of the Israeli Army and Israeli Air Force, during the 1982 Lebanon War. The Israeli Defence Force uses the UAVs mainly for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, scouting and communications. The IAI Pioneer was purchased by the US armed forces and proved itself as a reliable system in the first and second Gulf Wars in Iraq.

Ross

 

 

Well then I would certainly own one!!

I would even own the later model, 1978 Vettes, those cars were style!!

 

Pics rock bro!! Thank you for all you do!!

 

I used to work on the BGM-109 program, the Tomahawk cruise missile. Those babies are over a million a pop. Talk about getting the most bang for the buck (on topic ). I also used to work on the top secret ALCM Nuclear Warhead Stealth Cruise Missile program. Don't know what those cost per unit. But I guarantee ya, that's for sure the most bang for the buck right there.

 

Interesting, I'm definitely not versed in all UAV's and there are a lot out there in theatre. Most are toys though. The Predator seems to have hit the nail on the head with a reliable platform, relatively cheap, armed and yes...we [America] designed it. Anything it can't do, check out the Predator B's. If you dig UAV's, PM me Ross. Got some video footage I could share.

 

I'm sorry, did everyone miss the fact that the guy that owned the vette never shifted above 3500rpm? Is that why they are always doing the speed limit in the right lane?

I think I wouldn't invite the thread starter over for more ribs if I knew what he really thought of me and my corvette with a big sound system.

 

That's incorrect Ross.

Teledyne Ryan in San Diego was the developer and pioneer in UAVs. The Israelis came to us in San Diego for the sole purpose of having us develop one for them for military purposes. Burt Rutan (yes, that Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites and the designer of SpaceShipOne) was contracted to design the composite structure of this prototype Unmanned Vehicle for the Israelis. Teledyne Ryan was the recognized expert in UAVs and so we developed (I was just a young buck out of college at the time) this prototype for the Israelis who had the smarts to hire American ingenuity for the initial design, and they obviously took it and ran with it and further developed the technology for their purposes.

So don't say if it wasn't for the Israelis we Americans would be up the creek. That is incorrect.

Quoting from the reference source:

A number of reconnaissance Firebees were delivered to the Israelis in the early 1970s. These UAVs were fitted to Israeli specifications for low-altitude observation, and were designated "Model 124I". The Israelis called them "Mabat", meaning "observation". They were ground-launched with a RATO booster and recovered in mid-air by helicopter, saw service in the 1973 Yom Kippur war and later conflicts, and were not retired until the mid-1990s.

 

Holy crap this thread has taken more turns than a door ****.

 

Agreed.
Hey, did anyone else watch that 19 inning tear-jerker Sox-Sox game yesterday?

 

Yeah Baby. At least my Reigning World Champion Chicagoo White Sox won one game in the set. Man, the Red Sox are tough when it counts!

 

The whole point of the thread was that here is a guy that has a World Class sports car and he shifts at 3500 and is more interested in the sound system. Then the guys with hardons showed up...

You "got it".

 

As I recall unmanned drones were invented by an American engineer who tried to interest the U.S. military to no avail. He then turned to the Israelis who adopted the system and only then did the U.S. develop it further.

And no I don't have a reference for this but recall distinctly the news item on this as I was very surprised at the time at the shortsightedness of our military decision makers.

Go White Sox!

 

Wow, Boo. You were alive in the '40s??? Ryan Aeronautical had a successful business building drones back in the 50s.

Oh wait, modern day Israel didn't exist until 1948.

 

While I don't own either a Z06 or a 997TT - my thoughts are lilkely not worth spit in this high level discussion...nevertheless...

I have taken notice that Chevrolet needed 7.0 liters to match 3.6 Turbocharged Liters...

I also noticed that from a technological standpoint, Porsche created the 928 - which somehow managed to re-create itself in a few technological forms in today's Corvette's (not that that is a bad thing ). Further, Porsche has repeatedly introduced higher levels of technology in it's models than nearly any of the other auto manufacturers - including Chevrolet.

I have also noticed that it appears that the general build quality in Porsche appears to be higher than the Chevrolet Corvette.

I have also noticed that the Porsche longevity appears to be longer than the Chevrolet Corvette.

So....let's recap here shall we?

More technologically advanced - flag goes to Porsche.
More power production per Liter of displacement - flag goes to Porsche.
Better build quality - flag goes to Porsche.
Longevity - flag goes to Porsche.

Big Muscle Look - flag goes to Chevrolet Corvette
Made in the USA badge - flag obviously goes to Chevrolet Corvette

0-60 times - flag appears to go to Porsche
Track times - need more data (read: put same driver in each car and test) [DRAW]

Lowest price - flag goes to Chevrolet Corvette

Sophistication effect - flag goes to Porsche (sorry - it is still just a Chevrolet).