A Proceedings Magazine 2010 Notable Naval Book
According to naval weapons expert Norman Friedman, the U.S. Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft currently in development will transform naval aviation, extending its reach while dramatically reducing its cost. In his latest weapons book, Friedman describes the new X-47B and shows how these new aircraft offer tactics that manned aircraft cannot duplicate. He calls the X-47B a natural extension of the evolving networked form of drone warfare that can be used for a variety of missions, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and time-sensitive targeting. Friedman makes the important point that an unmanned attack aircraft can also be seen as an extension of some current missiles that interact with remote human controllers. The book includes an extensive appendix describing the world's military unmanned aircraft.
Norman Friedman is an internationally respected defense analyst and historian and the author of more than thirty books, including Network-Centric Warfare . A resident of New York City, he regularly testifies before Congress on Navy programs.
Praise for Unmanned Combat Air Systems
“Norman Friedman in his usual thoughtful and thorough manner provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art of these interesting and promising combat systems.”
— ausmarine Magazine, July 2012
". . . .This is a book which should be read by all strategists, planners, and people with an interest in naval tactics and aviation—in other words, NR readers.
— The Naval Review, August 2011
“Norman Friedman is a frequent speaker at naval conferences in Australia and needs no introduction to members of the ANI. His incisive works on naval weapons technologies and their employment have an international reputation and his latest work is a timely introduction to the rapidly evolving world of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV). The new book is written in a style that is clear, easy to understand but deeply informative. . . It also gives a valuable appreciation of the state of the art which will help readers understand the vast range of UCAV used in current operations. The book is bound to generate interest and debate and deserves to be."
—Journal of the Australian Naval Institute, June 2011, Issue 140
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