Interesting 400 MPH VTOL Variant

Under development at DARPA:

Story here.

Drone Swarms Are Here

It's here. The US military can throw hundreds, perhaps thousands of drone at you; they are synchronized and coordinated. They can talk to each other and perform pre-defined tasks.

More drone/UAV testing here.

H/T Funker530

Israeli Battlefield Air Transport

The Israelis are developing a UAV called the AirMule or Cormorant that can transport wounded soldiers and supplies.

YAVNE, Israel (Reuters) - After 15 years of development, an Israeli tech firm is optimistic it will finally get its 1,500 kg (1.5 tonne) passenger carrying drone off the ground and into the market by 2020.

The Cormorant, billed as a flying car, is capable of transporting 500kg (around half a tonne) of weight and traveling at 185 km (115 miles) per hour. It completed its first automated solo flight over terrain in November. Its total price is estimated at $14 million.

Developers Urban Aeronautics believe the dark green drone, which uses internal rotors rather than helicopter propellers, could evacuate people from hostile environments and/or allow military forces safe access.

"Just imagine a dirty bomb in a city and chemical substance of something else and this vehicle can come in robotically, remotely piloted, come into a street and decontaminate an area," Urban Aeronautics founder and CEO Rafi Yoeli told Reuters.

Yoeli set up the company, based in a large hanger in Yavne, central Israel, in 2001 to create the drone, which he says is safer than a helicopter as it can fly in between buildings and below power lines without the risk of blade strikes.

There is still plenty of work required before the autonomous vehicle hits the market.

Story here.

Pocket Sized Surveillance Drone Company Acquired

An article from Recode:

The leading maker of thermal imaging sensors, Flir, bought a Norwegian drone maker for $134 million, the company announced Wednesday.

Flir acquired Prox Dynamics, which makes the Black Hornet, a tiny nano-drone used by the military and law enforcement for surveillance and reconnaissance. The drone is deployed by throwing it in the air and is small enough to fit in a soldier’s pocket. Despite its compact frame, the Black Hornet carries three cameras.

 

The palm-sized aircraft is used by the U.S. Marines, the British Army, the Australian Army and Norway’s Armed Forces.

These drones can easily fit in the palm of your hand.

President-elect Donald Trump wants to resume law enforcement access to military equipment, so Flir acquired Black Hornet at an opportune time, when its client base in the U.S. may soon swell.

They're not cheap. I can see a new law enforcement grant initiative whereby federal tax dollars will be used to purchase these devices. The Black Hornet drone and all the equipment necessary to operate it costs $1950,000. Few small or even medium sized police agencies can afford that price tag.

If these drones become common place there might be an ancillary business boom for residential swimming pool domes . Swarms of miniature drones, cheap civilian models and otherwise, could infest skinny dipping sites. It could resemble a bee migration.

And what would you call a swarm of surveillance drones?

There's a bevy of quail, a dole of doves, a siege of herons, a gaggle of geese and a raft of ducks.

A dollop of drones?  

Drone Game Management

ENVER — Hunters in Colorado are lining up for a hot new license: $25 to shoot down a government drone over the village of Deer Trail.

Supporters acknowledge the licenses would be only symbolic, and a town election authorizing them is more than a month away. Still, about 1,000 people have applied for one.

Questions:

• Are there limits on how many drones you're allowed to bag?
• Are you allowed to use a searchlight to hunt after dark?
• Where do you affix your drone tag: wing, nose or rear stabilizer?
• How do you track a wounded drone?
• Are you allowed to use an electronic drone mating signal or drone exhaust to attract the beasts?
• Are there caliber limitations; perhaps nothing bigger than 20mm?
• Are you allowed to hunt them from a moving vehicle - ala Taliban style?

I think it's probably a ploy to slam an extra $25,000 into the town's budget.
But ya know what? I'd probably spring for it just for the yuks.

Next Week - "Dressing And Cooking Wild Drones"