drone

A new kamikaze drone out of Israel is designed to hang about overhead until it spots a target, then crash into it with "pinpoint accuracy" destroying the target, and itself, with 50 pounds of on-board explosives.

While classified as a Loitering Munition, the HAROP comes equipped with many of the usual UAV capabilities: high-performance FLIR and color CCD camera with 360-degree hemispherical coverage, allowing it to transmit video back to its operators just like a surveillance drone.

Like its predecessor the Harpy, the HAROP will be used to take out high-value targets such as air defense radars that … Read more

Most new laptops have built-in Bluetooth these days, but if yours doesn't, you might want to get what CallPod introduced on Thursday, the Drone.

The Drone is not a regular Bluetooth adapter. It's a high-powered device that offers a range of up to 300 feet; that's 10 times the range of regular Bluetooth devices.

Designed mainly for audio purposes, once plugged in, the Drone is recognized by a computer as a speaker. The Drone's built-in firmware then streams the computer's audio feed to Bluetooth headsets or speakers.

For this reason, the device is perfect for … Read more

WASHINGTON--The controversial surge in U.S. bodies to Iraq has dominated headlines in recent months, but the "unsung, unknown hero" isn't even human.

Or at least that's the assessment of Col. Donald Hazelwood, who runs the U.S. Army's unmanned aerial systems project office.

Speaking Friday at a confab here hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Hazelwood said daily use of drones has "forever changed" the way soldiers see what's around corners, detect improvised explosive devices, and fend off enemies in Baghdad and beyond.

"It doesn't get … Read more

WASHINGTON--For decades, U.S. government scientists have sliced specially equipped planes through hurricanes and other severe weather on a quest for crucial data to fuel weather forecasts. But in the future, drones are expected to do more and more of that work.

In the coming years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration envisions acquiring and leasing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a senior official said Friday at a conference here put on by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International. They'll be tasked with monitoring everything from weather conditions and fires to ice melting in the Arctic and endangered marine mammals … Read more

Fighter pilots might not be an endangered species just yet, but the Defense Department has been yanking some out of cockpits and putting them behind the joystick of unmanned aerial vehicles. UAV use has seen a dramatic rise in recent months, particularly in (or over) Iraq--in October, there were more than twice as many in service with the Air Force as there had been in January 2007, the Associated Press is reporting. And that's just a precursor of things to come.

Read the full AP story, "Military Use of Unmanned Aircraft Soars"

Not everyone in the French government wants to use flying robotic surveillance drones next year as part of a plan to triple police surveillance efforts.

ELSA (a French acronym for "light device for aerial surveillance") is a 4-foot aerial robot that would be used to watch people in Paris and towns connected to Paris by the Metro subway system.

The device was demonstrated at Milipol, an exhibition of police security technology, which took place last week in Paris.

ELSA drones are slated to be part of an effort to triple the number of video surveillance devices by 2009, … Read more

This is not your father's remote-controlled boat.

Qinetiq's Sentry is a unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance craft that the company says "boasts an advanced stealth design" and can hit speeds of up to 50 knots. Only now it's just a little less stealthy as it gets its first public demonstration at DSEi, the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition, taking place this week in London.

We're not exactly sure how Qinetiq will perform the demonstration. The Sentry is much bigger than a rubber ducky, or dinghy even. It's 11.5 feet from stem to … Read more

It looks like a giant version of the $2 styrofoam airplane toys you buy at the hobby shop, put together in two minutes, and render utterly useless after just a pair of overzealous throws. But this bird can soar.

So says its maker, the British defense contractor Qinetiq, which is crowing about the 54-hour flight turned in by its Zephyr High Altitude Long Endurance flyer. That's a record and then some for an unmanned aircraft, the company says, though it acknowledges the official word will still have to be delivered by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.

And did we mention … Read more

Take one part G.I. Joe and one part Fisher-Price Little People, mix in a few dashes of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems paraphernalia, and you might just come up with the Mighty World line of preschool-friendly military action figures.

These very little soldiers, distributed by International Playthings, are well-provisioned with some of the very latest in 21st-century battlefield gadgets. Consider Major Mac and his stealthy reconnaissance drone (an ultramodern, top-secret stealthy reconnaissance drone, that is). "Operated from his laptop, it swoops over enemy territory and relays back vital field information," says the Mighty World … Read more