Questão 2497999

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 Association’s

________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 – it’s those that adapt that

________will survive. Simply being ‘a good stick’ will rapidly no

15______longer cut it in the hostile skies of the future.

___________Musk’s 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.

Decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F) according to Text VI; then mark the right alternative.

I. Designers are challenged to find solutions that enable fitting flying conditions.

II. The human factor is considered an asset when it comes to air combat.

III. A transparent canopy is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

IV. The flying gear turns out to be heavy and expensive.