My friend Andrew and I decided to make a trip to Changi to attend the Singapore Airshow.
We were very impressed with the logistics of bringing visitors there. The shuttle service from Changi Airport to the Airshow was totally efficient. The show guides actually counted the number of passengers boarding the buses so that everyone has a seat!
The "live" segment of the airshow was stunningly impressive. We saw the F-16, Apache and the Thunderbird doing some spectacular stunts. It brought back echoes of our childhood movie "Top Gun" by Tom Cruise.
On static display were several awesome fighter planes. F16, F-111, Joint Strike Fighter and the evil looking drone fighter. It looks like the Alien head from the scifi horror classic "Alien". Think about it. If you need fighter pilots, you pick the "best and the brightest" to fly these multi-million dollar planes. In a future battlefield in which the battle is fought by remote control. You dont need the Tom Cruise type of fighter jocks. The pale face overweight computer game kids with the super dexterous joystick-trained fingers may be the new fighter pilot. He will not be subjected to G forces. He will never be combat fit. But he needs to process tons of real-time information and possess lightning reflexes. That may be the new reality of the battlefield in the 21st Century.
Harold Fock
The apache and the F-16
The drone - the future of War
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