Wed, Dec 28, 2011
But Analysts Wonder If UAS Jobs Will Equal F/A-18 Jobs
The Israel Defense Forces recently reported that they are now
flying more hours with unmanned aircraft than with manned craft.
The US military may not be far behind. What does this trend mean
for Boeing in general, and for the company's St. Louis workforce in
particular? So far, says Boeing, its future in the city remains
solid.
The news website STLtoday.com notes that manned military
fighters are one of the city's iconic products, dating back to the
World War I era, before McDonnell Douglas was acquired by Boeing.
Some military observers say that the last US fighter pilot has been
born, and that within a couple of decades all military aircraft
will be unmanned.
Boeing's F/A-18 fighter is used worldwide today, but UAVs are
smaller cheaper, and don't put human pilots in harm's way. Boeing
is locked in competition with other traditional defense
contractors, but also many smaller companies developing unmanned
technology for military missions. So far, Boeing holds just two
percent of the military drone market by dollar volume. The company
is trying to catch up with recent acquisitions of smaller
development firms, including Insitu, which started development of
the ScanEagle drone (pictured above) which now wears a Boeing
badge.
Michael Blades, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan, an
analysis firm based in Texas, says that even if Boeing eventually
replaces F/A-18 production in St. Louis with a plant which builds
UAVs, "there won't be a lot of them. Those things can stay in the
air for ten days. How many would you need?"
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