Real combat is scary but for helicopter pilots it just got a little more like a video game.
The latest version of the Army’s attack helicopter, the AH-64D Longbow Apache Block III, will have the usual enhancements everyone expects to see - fly faster and higher, etc. - but will also have something really interesting; Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) control, which means the pilot can now control the flight path, weapons systems and sensors on a drone. That's multiple eyes and attackers from one crew. Currently Apache crews coordinate with drone operators via radio.
An AH-64 Apache helicopter soars over the deserts near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz., during a combat search-and-rescue exercise in April 2010. The U.S. Army's Apache helicopter will be the first aircraft whose pilots will have the ability to control drones from their cockpit. Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes
Faster, Meaner Apaches Allow Pilots to Control Drones in Battle by Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
