DailyDirt: Weapons In The Sky

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Completely autonomous drones that can decide who or what to strike are still many years away from becoming a reality, but the military has already developed various unmanned aircraft that it's been using primarily for gathering intelligence (rather than for attacking targets). Here are a few more examples of some of the high-tech flying weapons that exist today. If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
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Filed Under: autonomous, aviation, drones, f-22, lasers, pilots, planes, prototype aircraft, weapons


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 May 2013 @ 5:18pm

    France..

    The French are going to buy drones from the US or Israel to "modernize" their airborne capabilities....

    There must be other countries making drones now....

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 May 2013 @ 5:26pm

    Out of Sight, Out of Mind

    Interactive Pakistan Murders Using Drones: http://drones.pitchinteractive.com/

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 May 2013 @ 6:53pm

    F-22

    The reason it takes 5 years to figure out is that the issue was the life support vest itself and not the aircraft. Does the life support vest being used support the turn on a at dime Mach speed handling the F22 is capable of?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Baldaur Regis (profile), 21 May 2013 @ 8:55pm

    Cost prohibitive and impractical, the Airborne Laser would likely have cost $92,000/hour to fly if it had worked.
    Pfft. $92,000 is what, three toilet seats?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Wally (profile), 21 May 2013 @ 9:52pm

      Re:

      How about the cost of the vats full of chemicals used to create the laser...all 500 gallons of it...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 May 2013 @ 6:37am

      Re:

      According to federal agencies that track such things, it is about 1/2 the cost per hour associated with AF One, POTUS' puddle-jumper.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 21 May 2013 @ 10:32pm

    Why put a laser on a 747 when we have so many perfectly good sharks?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    JackOfShadows (profile), 22 May 2013 @ 12:34am

    Actually...

    The US Navy's UCAS X-47D also successfully accomplished a touch-and-go on the USS George H. W. Bush . I have no word on whether it did the T&G on its own or used the carriers built-in ACLS (Automated Carrier Landing System. [ACLS automagically lands the plane but pilots, being control freaks, loathe it.] Standing-room only, aircraft on deck, both of which were surprising. Usually we don't allow audiences, then again, seems like it's doing extremely well.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 22 May 2013 @ 8:44am

      Re: Actually...

      X-47 only has its own control, as directed by an operator. Landings (and T&G's) are completely automatic, controlled by the onboard computer.

      I can also understand why Naval Aviators are hesitant to use the automated system. I personally think that the one who tested the auto-landing system for the UCAS-D has balls of steel to ride an F-18 onto the deck with his hands off the stick.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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