| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| US Army to fly 'kamikaze' drones |
| 2011-10-18 |
| Dubbed the "Switchblade," a miniature "kamikaze" drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army's arsenal, officials say. Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment. Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month. "Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target," it said. |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |
| #14 Did some work on some Aeroenvironment stuff a few years back; these guys think out of the box...... cool stuff. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2011-10-18 22:25 |
| #13 "Squeal. Squeal Like a Pig" |
| Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-10-18 21:27 |
| #12 And if it is to make a noise, have it play the old cavalry bugle charge as it dives in on its prey. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-10-18 19:24 |
| #11 Leave to the media to misidentify a hunter/killer drone as a 'kamikaze'. To be a kamikaze requires that the human actually be physically contained in the suicide vehicle. Otherwise, the Switchblade is just the next logical step in the development of killer drones: first the Buzz Bomb, then things like the Firebee and the HARM missile, now the true hunter/killer drone that can be issued as a munition. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-10-18 19:21 |
| #10 "Hooah!". They'll get it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-10-18 19:09 |
| #9 "Make it holler "Allahu Akbar!" as its final insult." Me likee. Make sure it uses a genuine Arab accent. (Or better yet, Iranian.) |
| Posted by: Barbara 2011-10-18 17:44 |
| #8 Or even "Nos Custodimus ipsos custodes" |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-10-18 17:06 |
| #7 It's no good insulting someone if they don't understand what you said. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-18 17:05 |
| #6 Deus Vult! |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Cleatch5946 2011-10-18 16:36 |
| #5 I'd have thought "God wills it" might be better. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-10-18 16:35 |
| #4 Make it holler "Allahu Akbar!" as its final insult. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-10-18 16:20 |
| #3 Can we make it yell "YEEEEEE-HAH!" as is attacks? |
| Posted by: mojo 2011-10-18 16:14 |
| #2 Saw that vid. Really neat since it is a quick set up, the soldier can do a quick recon with the drone since it has a video feed, then fly it into the best target. It is very popular with the troops. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2011-10-18 12:59 |
| #1 There was a vid of this posted at rantburg a while back, but was pulled from Youtube due to copyright infringement. It doesn't hover (implying a helicopter style power plant), but flies and is controlled like an RC airplane. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2011-10-18 08:26 |