Video: New attack drone prototype gives blogger heart palpitations
posted at 1:07 pm on March 3, 2008 by Allahpundit
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High-fliers for reconnaissance missions or low-fliers for attacks? Budget constraints mean you can’t have both. Unless…
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I love America!
winemkr on March 3, 2008 at 1:14 PM
CGI, just a concept. Has an origami look to it. Otherwise, pretty derned cool.
iurockhead on March 3, 2008 at 1:14 PM
Best new attack drone prototype…… evahhhhh!
Seven Percent Solution on March 3, 2008 at 1:15 PM
We can do anything!
shibumiglass on March 3, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Looks cool. Too bad Obama is going to slash the military budget in favor of more welfare spending.
The dems need attention down on the vote farms of the major cities. His goal is more dole.
saiga on March 3, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Dude.
jgapinoy on March 3, 2008 at 1:19 PM
We can do this but not build a damn fence along our southern borders.
This is the first time, as an adult, that I’ve been proud of this country.
/s
omnipotent on March 3, 2008 at 1:19 PM
I’m all a-twitter!
D2Boston on March 3, 2008 at 1:20 PM
More than meets the eye…
trubble on March 3, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Wonder who will be the bidder in the stealth mini/starship trooper vehicle? Lockheed Martin?
/s off
upinak on March 3, 2008 at 1:24 PM
It looks like a paper airplane, that will kill you.
AbaddonsReign on March 3, 2008 at 1:25 PM
We know how much AP enjoys his war porn…but for those of us who know that it’s still a matter of joes kickin’ in doors and hold the line, we just have one question…
Can those of us who kick in doors start making a living wage comparable to state and federal employees of similar skill level and experience? And we can hold off on the vastly superior technology for the future, and stick with the very superior technology we have now. Just a suggestion.
Spc Steve on March 3, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Now we just need T-500’s for infantry.
darclon on March 3, 2008 at 1:27 PM
HotAir has a fee-vah and the only prescription is more war-pron!!!
Defector01 on March 3, 2008 at 1:27 PM
If you build them
they will bomb
U A V!
USA!
U A V!
USA!
GooOOOO Team!
normsrevenge on March 3, 2008 at 1:28 PM
I keep telling my mom my HALO skillz are going to be in high demand one day. She just shuts the basement door.
knat on March 3, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Yeah, we can make attack drones, but fence technology is just way too complicated to figure out.
WisCon on March 3, 2008 at 1:30 PM
/me wonders why they never get shot down (or even at) while their attractive smiling female controllers guide them on their mission in the promo videos. It seems suspicious. Almost as if Lockheed was trying to sell something.
But yeah, it could be cool.
ErikTheRed on March 3, 2008 at 1:31 PM
A techno babe sending out robots to kill our enemies…the jihadis will not like THAT.
Exit question: can robot drones be classified as “infidels”?
pseudonominus on March 3, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Yes, most of the people realize that. But the “war porn” does help to keep the spirit alive!
upinak on March 3, 2008 at 1:32 PM
We should freeze all spending on aIpAC until the border is under controll and all law-breakers are deproted.
Hee Haw Damien on March 3, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Nice slick ad. I wondered if it was a preview for the latest Bruckheimer movie. Coming soon to a theater near you: Origami.
Viscount_Bolingbroke on March 3, 2008 at 1:33 PM
Lets give the robots female voices saying “Good Morning Jihaadists” and see what they say?!?
upinak on March 3, 2008 at 1:33 PM
look up in the air it a bird its a plane no it a HEART ATTACK.
TroubledMonkey on March 3, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Or Juan McCain will find a way to buy it from France instead.
ErikTheRed on March 3, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Sweet.
I was hoping it would fold its wings and dive like a falcon for a kill. Still awesomely awesome.
TexasDan on March 3, 2008 at 1:36 PM
That’s Michael Bay Awesome!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHsxQJ9ZOo
tort_feasor on March 3, 2008 at 1:37 PM
more war porn ? how about a SUB launched UAV ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIbOoBtqA-I
William Amos on March 3, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Check these out for the ground
http://www.irobot.com/filelibrary/GIspecsheets/iRobot_Warrior_Spec_Rev%200108_v2.pdf
Anyone want to buy one for me?
I can’t believe anybody has said SKYNET yet.
darclon on March 3, 2008 at 1:37 PM
ErikTheRed on March 3, 2008 at 1:31 PM
You seem unfamiliar with this concept called “capitalism.” In short, it’s how we pay for all this shit.
I know it’s scary, but if you like things, you’ll work past the fear. Trust me, it’s better on the other side.
Merovign on March 3, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Didn’t Germany have the same issue with the ME262 and the use of jet engines? Scramble Brains wanted it to be a bomber and the LW needed it as a fighter.
Hening on March 3, 2008 at 1:40 PM
But the lady said ‘hunter/killer’! I’ve just made my birthday wishlist – and it’s about one item long.
emailnuevo on March 3, 2008 at 1:41 PM
Am I the only one, by this technology, reminded of the time honored school boy tradition of the folded paper airplane?
Nyog_of_the_Bog on March 3, 2008 at 1:41 PM
I’ve never served, but I am completely in favor of doing some drastic improvement with regards to compensation for those that do serve.
Midas on March 3, 2008 at 1:43 PM
The limiting factor for deployment of the ME262 was lagging jet engine availability.
pseudonominus on March 3, 2008 at 1:47 PM
I didn’t know which was prettier! The plane or the radar operator!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on March 3, 2008 at 1:48 PM
Drones should be dubbed Djinns when used against our ‘Slum friends.
BL@KBIRD on March 3, 2008 at 1:55 PM
No wonder the Jihadists hate us. Our Babes not only dont wear burkhas they also can shoot a jihadist off a camels butt without breaking a sweat !
William Amos on March 3, 2008 at 1:58 PM
very kool
jerrytbg on March 3, 2008 at 1:58 PM
I LIKE IT! That would be the perfect name for them!
Frozen Tex on March 3, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Midas on March 3, 2008 at 1:43 PM
I have…..and certainly agree with you.
jerrytbg on March 3, 2008 at 2:02 PM
We are just so cool it’s sickening.
RWLA on March 3, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Is that a new Lockheed/Airbus tanker plane at the end?
doubleplusundead on March 3, 2008 at 2:08 PM
Now that’s HAWT!!!
KelliD on March 3, 2008 at 2:09 PM
Tie Fighter production will be next.
kevcad on March 3, 2008 at 2:09 PM
That is sick, and by sick I mean awesome.
someguy on March 3, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Was it good for you too, honey?
Rode Werk on March 3, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Not bad! I’ll take two of them.
TooTall on March 3, 2008 at 2:12 PM
Wicked cool. The U.S. is awesome.
BadgerHawk on March 3, 2008 at 2:12 PM
SWEET! Hotties in camo sitting somewhere in Arizona can smite the jihadis with death from above without even mussing their hair.
Thank God for a courageous generation of young Americans who grew up knowing how to do almost nothing but play video games!
morganfrost on March 3, 2008 at 2:14 PM
DARPA under President Bush has done it’s job. Thanks Skunk Works.
Zorro on March 3, 2008 at 2:14 PM
Hot damn, that is sweet!
Not to get totally off the subject but…isn’t this the type of technology that should be considered and then applied to the much debated Tanker replacement aircraft. A typical tanking mission is far less demanding that a strike mission. Profile; transit to station, loiter whilst flying the racetrack, feed the kids and then head for home. Seems all the proof of concept work has been done, we have Global Hawk gallivanting all over the planet as an autonomous vehicle and the primitive (by comparison) Predator has turned out to be just F’in unbelievably successful. There are several way cool designs for large efficient aircraft utilizing a blended wing that both Boeing and Lockheed have played around with. Food for thought……and more robots!!!
dmann on March 3, 2008 at 2:18 PM
Any technology like this would be tested the same way the F-117 or B-2 were tested, in secret. The very fact that there is a fancy video for it, is a signal that they don’t have the funding for it.
While the concept is a nice one, all of the controls they are talking about have never before happened on their own before, as they claim in the video. A Ground Station UAV pilot would carry out any bombing runs and ground passes.
PresidenToor on March 3, 2008 at 2:20 PM
The only thing missing is a reference to the network aspect as “SkyNet.” Hunter-Killer FTW!
Neo on March 3, 2008 at 2:26 PM
How much for a down payment? :)
ThePrez on March 3, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Oh my God…Feel my arm… Goosebumps!
DakRoland on March 3, 2008 at 2:35 PM
PresidenToor on March 3, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Check out the X-45 program, lots of autonomous decision-making and mission execution carried out by the platform.
dmann on March 3, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Just curious as to how you leap from my mocking the idealized soft-focus-shot war pr0n to my not understanding capitalism. My point being that this stuff always looks ridiculously good in the pre-development promo video, and that (by implication) it would probably be a good idea to not get too excited until there’s a working prototype (that hopefully does at least half of what it’s supposed to do for less than three times the budget). Then we can all happily spank ourselves silly to real baddies blowing up, rather than CGI ones.
ErikTheRed on March 3, 2008 at 2:59 PM
They need to add a screaming eagle crazy ray as the finishing touch.
Dusty on March 3, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Hey mom, can I have one of these for Christmas?
desertdweller on March 3, 2008 at 3:17 PM
this was on PBS this past week, nature or nova or something. according to them, this design and others like it are based on raptors, like the bald eagle, and how they change their wingspan and shape to soar or dive. anyway, it was really cool.
AdrianG on March 3, 2008 at 3:33 PM
It’s only a concept.
;-)
drjohn on March 3, 2008 at 3:40 PM
I can’t believe the ignorant comment from the groundpounder. Stop development? Are you Fred Kaplan, Slate’s anti-military military reporter?
DoD budget is a tiny fraction of what it needs to be, and the US needs to be spending much more money building and researching all sorts of gear. All elements of US forces need to be constantly supplied with new equipment – keeping as many orders of magnitude advantage on all enemies is a key part of the US deterrent.
Of course we need to cut (preferably eliminate) all other Federal spending, and some pay raises for the troops would be nice, but with recruitment and retention bonuses the boys and girls are still doing well. Add to that the many benefits for education and healthcare, as well as the low overhead for many soldiers, and you can’t quite compare the cash compensation. If you stay single (as you should) as a young soldier, between deployments and life on base you should have very little need to spend money. Add in combat pay and the enforced sobriety of Stan and the sandbox… A new E-4 (starting rank for enlisted with a 4-year degree) makes an average of 40K before taking into account enlistment bonuses, ed benefits, combat pay… Not bad money especially after taking into account all of the time you can’t spend anything.
libertarianuberalles on March 3, 2008 at 3:43 PM
That right. You guessed it.
Lockheed-Martin H1B visa technology workers…
building the war-porn weapons that ordinary Americans are too lazy to build themselves.
CyberCipher on March 3, 2008 at 3:51 PM
Wow. I thought it was a spoof, I guess not.
WOW. O_O
WayWard Fundamentalist Christian on March 3, 2008 at 4:03 PM
awesome
trailortrash on March 3, 2008 at 4:03 PM
Do drone pilots use the sensible key board and mouse approach or the damn goofy x-box controller?
BL@KBIRD on March 3, 2008 at 4:21 PM
I wouldn’t get my hopes up for all this new techno weaponry – Either Obama or Clinton will strip the military AGAIN as all good liberal/socialists do to fund more nannystate, giveaway entitlement programs.
Then when a war comes along – and it ALWAYS DOES – our troops will be sucking hind tit AGAIN because we used the money to fund a piss-christ or cow fart studies….
jimbo2008 on March 3, 2008 at 4:26 PM
Well, as a fellow veteran of the door-kicking service (MP), I have to say that the inclusion of this technology is not, to me, a bad thing. Kicking in doors isn’t the only way to win battles, hence the concept of integrated combat arms. House-to-house fighting is hard, but when you have unmanned UAVs flying overhead that can look through houses while relaying that data to a man on the ground with a PDA, things get much easier. I prefer to know that there are bad guys ahead, then find out after I’ve kicked in the door to toss in a flash-bang or M67. Just like I’m all for the FCS MULE (http://www.army.mil/fcs/mule.html). Having a machine nearby that’s heavily armed and armored to watch a flank, or two, while having on-hand air support is not something I see too much of a downside to. Hey, if the FCS guys want to go all T2 on us and start making totally autonomous Bradley AFVs and Commanche RAH-66s follow us into combat to spray terrorists with Hellfire missiles, 70mm rockets, 25mm bullets and Javelins, I say “have at it”, “many happy returns” and “the more, the merrier”.
Virus-X on March 3, 2008 at 4:26 PM
woah, even semi autonomous. But Skynet was only an idea in a movie like the submarine, space flight, fax machines . .
- The Cat
P.S. I actually had a way old Scifi book where fax machines were part of the way kewl future tech.
P.P.S. Remember when Michael Knight talking into his watch was sooooooo wow. But kids today are all like “Why doesn’t he just take his phone out of his pocket?”
MirCat on March 3, 2008 at 4:27 PM
Bitchin!
Tzetzes on March 3, 2008 at 4:35 PM
That is so freaking sweet. The X-Wing effect with the wings – when it closes in for attack – that does it for me.
Hey do you still get 72 virgins if you’re killed by a robot? Doesn’t Allah consider that sort of thing like an industrial accident?
rjjago on March 3, 2008 at 4:38 PM
I awready got one. So cool.
Akzed on March 3, 2008 at 4:42 PM
WARGASM~!
fusionaddict on March 3, 2008 at 4:47 PM
Hey, Robert Downey Junior wasn’t anywhere in that clip.
2Tru2Tru on March 3, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Put one of them there “Heat Ray Guns” on it and patrol the southern boarder.
I guess I’ll let my son’s continue to play “Halo Live”.
PappaMac on March 3, 2008 at 5:34 PM
And all these years I thought Robotech and the Transformers were fiction.
My bad.
Lancer on March 3, 2008 at 5:56 PM
Computer programmers! Gotta love ‘em! We are coming to an age of just hardware and software. The day is coming when the F22 Raptor will be pilotless. Then the onground pilots can really fly those birds without suffering from all of the G-
cjs1943 on March 3, 2008 at 6:02 PM
Sorry about that, but to continue on:
G-forces that can hamper them. All of those video games playing will pay off: hand and eye coordination to fly and respond to being attacked and firing their own weapons.
cjs1943 on March 3, 2008 at 6:04 PM
It’s only a concept.
;-)
drjohn on March 3, 2008 at 3:40 PM
If they have a video out it is prpbably past a concept. Have youheard of the Reaper?
Sven on March 3, 2008 at 7:20 PM
It’s not a concept, my father-in-law did the radar profile on it several years ago. This sucker is in production…
doriangrey on March 3, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Just to play the cynic, but the bf110 didn’t work out too well..
Reaps on March 3, 2008 at 9:23 PM
The bf110 really was not a very affective aircraft, no cynicism implied. Given the lose of 2 engines everytime one made a hole in the English channel, those resources would have been best used in more bf109’s
dmann on March 3, 2008 at 9:40 PM
Thats why Russia doesn’t like us!…:)
beachkatie on March 3, 2008 at 11:15 PM
Transformers…More Than Meets The Eye. Which one is Optimus Prime?
schmuck281 on March 4, 2008 at 2:46 AM
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