It looks like it was made by a Byzantine architect who had a nightmare after watching PeeWee Herman shows. 'Undercover' indeed. Anybody sees this thing, nobody'll believe what he saw. It's a good thing there's nobody around in the arctic.
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| Science & Technology |
| Russia Unveils Drone Disguised As Snowy Owl For Undercover Missions |
| 2019-06-27 |
| [Daily Caller] At an annual military exposition in Moscow June 25, Russia unveiled a combat surveillance drone resembling a snowy owl. The unmanned drone, which is capable of tracking an enemy, is difficult to detect due to its bird-like design and low noise emissions. Weighing eleven pounds, the drone is equipped with a laser that can assist Russian artillery with firing at specific locations. The drone can fly for up to 40 minutes and cover distances of up to twelve miles, the Moscow Times reported. The biomimetic design aims to replicate the snowy owl, which is native to the region. The drone’s wingspan is slightly larger than the wingspan of a snowy owl, which on average measures five feet. A large portion of the drone’s "face" is taken up by a variety of gadgets that can give away the drone’s identity. Russian defense minister Sergey Shoygu said the drone should "cultivate a sense of national pride" for young people, the Daily Mail reported. The drone will likely be part of the heightened Russian military presence in the Arctic. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 Will it confuse optical trackers? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2019-06-27 18:50 |
| #7 TW, you haven't seen my phoebes. They hover, though only very briefly, not for extended period like the hummers. Once I learned phoebes eat ticks, wasps and spiders they became my best friends, and I switched to using my back door because they built a nest on the front door light fixture. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2019-06-27 17:11 |
| #6 Real snow owls aren't this big either. No way an electric motor will stand arctic conditions. I'm guessing it's just a hyped project to encourage the universities to be more supportive of the war machine. They already have those prototype Sukhoi Hunter drones testing at Kotelny. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-06-27 16:30 |
| #5 Hover? But real owls don’t hover, although they can backwing when coming in for a landing. Only hummingbirds can hover. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2019-06-27 16:00 |
| #4 They are saying it's a proprietary electric motor made by the Military Aviation Engineering University (Voronezh). The laser is for painting targets. It can hover in place and has stabilizers for high winds in the arctic. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-06-27 15:07 |
| #3 A worm with wings |
| Posted by: Frank G 2019-06-27 14:50 |
| #2 Somehow, I keep getting this mental image of a farting owl flying around. Just trying to figure out the drone propulsion system. |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2019-06-27 13:50 |
| #1 It looks like it was made by a Byzantine architect who had a nightmare after watching PeeWee Herman shows. 'Undercover' indeed. Anybody sees this thing, nobody'll believe what he saw. It's a good thing there's nobody around in the arctic. |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2019-06-27 06:40 |