| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| The plan for smaller, faster, deadlier UAVs |
| 2009-06-10 |
| Before the end of the next decade, unmanned aerial vehicles no bigger than a dragonfly and faster than a hummingbird will be darting in and out of buildings. The Air Force laid out its vision for the next generation of UAVs late last month in a report that has a page-by-page breakdown of the aircraft, controls, munitions, sensors and construction materials. The report's release came just days before Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told defense and military leaders that the service has "turned a corner" in its pursuit of unmanned technology, describing current operations as "very Neanderthal." In his speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Schwartz suggested an unmanned cargo aircraft might be in the service's future but made it clear he doesn't support fielding an unmanned nuclear bomber. The 90-page report includes UAVs assigned to tanker and fighter as well as intelligence missions. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #18 Will the dragonfly UAVs be jammed by a UAV bug zapper? |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-06-10 22:07 |
| #17 Gonna hafta watch out for a slazenger defensive array. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-06-10 20:59 |
| #16 Small but Deadly? They'll kill with a fart! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-06-10 20:41 |
| #15 Michael Crichton's 'Prey' comes to mind..... |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-06-10 20:39 |
| #14 > he doesn't support fielding an unmanned nuclear bomber. So what's an ICBM? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-06-10 20:39 |
| #13 A sharp antenna is weapon enough, if 1,000 or so are heading in your direction. |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2009-06-10 20:16 |
| #12 what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry? How big a bomb does it need to be if it just lands on your nose and blows up? Of course, you could also use them as sensors to call down a guided munitions strike. I predict these will be deployed in pairs: a strike version to fly up the ass of some tin-pot hitler wannabe and explode, and a recon version to snap a photo of the surprised look on his face. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-06-10 17:11 |
| #11 Maybe they will carry little switch blades. Call them Scar Face UAV's. |
| Posted by: Flineling Lumumba8413 2009-06-10 16:52 |
| #10 Poison seems best, light and deadly. Blue Ringed Octopus venom, or some of the larger Cone Shellfish would be a good start. |
| Posted by: Glinesh the Ruthless2171 2009-06-10 16:21 |
| #9 what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry?? They're gonna be hornet hybrids! Gaaack I hate hornets! |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-06-10 14:21 |
| #8 In "Dune", the little suckers just drove right into your eye. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2009-06-10 14:12 |
| #7 i hope there are no paranoid schizos reading this |
| Posted by: funky skunk 2009-06-10 13:58 |
| #6 what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry? Poison seems best, light and deadly. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-06-10 12:04 |
| #5 what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry? No weapons, but the buzzing will annoy the hell of them and keep them up all night. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-06-10 11:32 |
| #4 2030 for the dragonfly sized UAV by 2015 we should be able to make pea sized octanitrocubane based bombs with enough power to cripple an SUV sized enemy asset |
| Posted by: lord garth 2009-06-10 11:09 |
| #3 Bye bye fighter mafia. Now the Air Force can go back to being a high-tech force. That's the great thing about any size UAV - just arm it with explosives and now it's a guided missile. Even a dime-sized charge could make a nasty pop if a dragonfly darted out from the curtains and crashed into your face or chest. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-06-10 11:01 |
| #2 Nifty long-range plans. Hopefully it won't suck too much money away from what troops say they need now- bigger, slower, deadlier UAPs- which are cheaper and more numerous to boot. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2009-06-10 11:00 |
| #1 what kind of weapon is a dragonfly size UAV gonna carry?? |
| Posted by: funky skunk 2009-06-10 10:55 |