MI:3 and the use of UAV's in the film.

[Enzo]

Went to the first of the popcorn flics this past weekend. It was worth the ticket, but I think that says more for the lack of good movies recently than the quality of this one. The best that can be said, it was better than the last effort by Woo. Some things I noticed that won't give anything away (I hope) that pertain to the use of military equipment in the movie, particularily UAVs.


Be warned of possible spoilers for those who have yet to see this >



Cruise comments on the Berretta 92F, I'm simply not in agreement, but whatever. I liked the AD though when his wife reached for it.

The set up and use of remote cannon. I'm unfamiliar with the capabilities of such systems, any comments?

The use of what appears to be a fictional jet propelled UAV (a bit of a cross between a Predator and a Global Hawk) armed with a complement of missiles. I found this to be the most interesting for the pilot appeared to be on board the Huey (stable platform for control not to mention the technical logistics; but why not, it's a movie. Wouldn't it have been cheaper/easier to have a doorgunner take out our hero as opposed to the UAV?) *

*http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/predator/

The use of a UAV in this movie stayed with me and as I was reading recently of homemade UAV's (even an apparent missile built in NZ by a civilian hobbyist for ~$5,000NZD) and how they may gain in popularity for use in a combat role by insurgents/guerillas/carnies, etc...

I love the one upmanship of filmakers. Cameron blows up a bridge with Harriers in True Lies, so JJ Abrams uses a UAV. What's next? Freakin' sharks with lasers on their heads? What? That's been done? Crap...

At the end of the day, it's a movie that provided. I only fell asleep once.

 

[Korus]

I also enjoyed the fact that the UAV had to continually do high speed, low altitude passes to get within several hundred meters to fire the missiles. But, it's possible that having upgraded the predator airframe to a jet engine (nothing quite like a jet powered glider doing high g maneuveres.. yeah baby!), they simply couldn't afford to use the standard predator Hellfires (With it's minimum range of about 0.5km and maximum range of about 9km)
Better yet it was interesting to see that after 4 or so missiles were launched, the 2 missiles orig ionally mounted under the UAV's wings were still there....

Maybe that's why no one likes to go see action movies with me anymore.

 

[Enzo]

I thought that was like in the video games where once you've fired, another is replaced under the wing. :

At least when Tommy fired 3/5 of his mag at the UAV it broke up instead of the mandatory explosion. Loved the jump that followed. Hoo Wah!

 

[George Wallace]

.....and did you count the number of Mag changes he had to make throughout the movie?  What ever happened to those Hollywood guns that never run out of bullets?  Was the film budget too cheap to get any of those?

 

[Britney Spears]

"In excess of 8 KM" is the DECLASSIFIED range of the Hellfire. Considering that the Hellfire was designed to put the Apache well outside the Soviet short range AD envelope, I really wouldn't want to be much closer than, say, 15 or 20 kms of a Hellfire launcher. Let's just say that there were some rather suprised Iraqi tank commanders in the first few hours of Desert Storm. 

 

[Enzo]

It's all about groupings now. No need for the changes once you've become the "one shot" master as exhibited by Keri Russell (she looked great dead btw >)

Also, I've heard baseball has a following in Asia, but when it begins to rain baseballs, I dunno...

 

[Franko]

Enzo.....is that you?

Regards

 

[Korus]

Let's just say that there were some rather suprised Iraqi tank commanders in the first few hours of Desert Storm. 

I don't kow if they were so much surprised as splattered.

 

[Enzo]

Yep. Been awhile eh.