Questão 162023Inglês
(AFA - 2023)
Directions: Read Text VI and answer questions 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 accordingly.
TEXT VI
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, caused
something of a stir at the annual Air Force Associations
Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. During an
informal fireside chat with Lt. Gen. John Thompson of
5
Space Command on Friday, Musk told a room packed
with fighter pilots that the fighter jet era has passed.
Now, Musk is renowned for finding soundbites for the
media to hook onto, and also of causing calculated
disruption in his target audience, but even by his
10
standards this is a well-baited line. What makes this such
a bold and controversial statement?
The contemporary battlefield is far more networked,
complex, congested and lethal its those that adapt that
will survive. Simply being a good stick will rapidly no
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longer cut it in the hostile skies of the future.
Musks main thrust is, however, that the human in
the cockpit is the limiting factor in air combat now, not the
advantage.
Firstly, humans are awkward for aircraft designers to
20
accommodate. In a modern fighter the pilot sits on an
ejection seat for emergency escape, needs an oxygen
supply and air-conditioning to function at extremes of
temperature and altitude, and requires flight controls and
instruments to fly and fight the machine. All of these add
25
a significant amount of weight and cost into the aircraft.
Moreover, having a transparent canopy to permit the crew
to see out does little to improve signature management1
as radar cross section and the chances of reflected sun
glint all increase. The human also adds more weight,
30
especially when encumbered with flight kit such as
helmet, NVGs, g-suit and flight planning and survival
equipment. Traditionally, pilots sit toward the front of the
aircraft to afford them the best view for take-off and
landing, as well as air combat. This has implications on
35
aerodynamics, stealth1 design and weight distribution
factors. In short, it can make the designers life a lot
simpler if the pilot/crew are not in the aircraft.
(Extracted from https://www.forbes.com/. Accessed on March 03, 2022.)
Vocabulary:
1. Signature management and stealth: both terms refer to technology that reduces the likelihood of personnel, aircrafts, missiles, etc. being detected.
Analyzing the grammatical aspects of Text VI, and considering the standard use of language, its correct to say that