Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Expendable drones launched from mother ship

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a19657/future-warplanes-will-launch-swarms-of-expendable-drones/

"One of the first such expendables is the Coyote drone, originally designed for the U.S. Navy. The Coyote is fired from the tubes on a P-3 Orion aircraft normally used for dropping sonar buoys. The drone uses a parachute to slow down, then releases it as it unfolds five-foot wings. An electric propeller drives the Coyote for up to 90 minutes at a cruising speed of 60 mph. The drone can be recovered and reused, but it's cheap enough to be expendable."

"In fact, Special Forces Command already has a drone developed for exactly this mission. Built by RC helicopter makers Lite Machines Corporation and known as Tiger Moth, it is a curious twin-rotor craft weighing just three pounds. According to the developers, it can provide high-resolution video imagery to the sensor operators of current and future gunships and aircraft systems..."

As drones get smarter they can do more and more things. I envision the release of clouds of little guys gathering info, protecting their mother ship, etc.

No comments:

Post a Comment