Monday, January 17, 2011

What Is The Future For Drones (Both Military And Non-Military)

MQ-9 Reaper taxis down an Afghan runway. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Attack Of The Drones -- The Guardian

Unmanned aircraft are now a vital tool in war zones, but our skies could soon be buzzing with spy planes that feed information back to the police – and even the paparazzi

There is a second-and-a-half delay between the RAF operator pressing his button and the Hellfire rocket erupting from the aircraft he is controlling, circling in the sky above Afghanistan.

That's a long time in modern warfare, but the plane is an unmanned "drone" and its two-strong crew are 8,000 miles away at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. Right now, the Reaper is being commanded from a console with twin video screens shaped to resemble a plane's cockpit.

Read more ....

My Comment: A rather comprehensive re3port from The Guardian .... read it all if drones are your thing.

2 comments:

Mark said...

"read it all if drones are your thing" <-- hehe, guess who´s gonna read that article^^

Dane Vallejo said...

Drones are a valuable addition to counterterrorism and even counterinsurgency campaigns, but it concerns me that their addiation will cause latter to be sacrificed for the former. I can see this happening in Afghanistan where a half hearted counterterroism campaign will come to replace the COIN strategy being implemented now. Wrote a blog on this a while back now, please have a read and comment if you feel compelled! http://military-matters.blogspot.com/2011/01/replacing-boots-with-bots-lets-not-lose.html