Using drones: principles, tactics and results (amended title)

[davidbfpo]

Drones are useful, but not the solution or the problem

The headline of a short article on 'The Hill' and the author? Harold Brown, ex-Sec. of Defence.

Link:http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-bl...or-the-problem

[jmm99]

From New America Foundation, Drone Wars: Counterterrorism and Human Rights (May 14, 2013) (video, just over 1-1/2 hours).

Participants

Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism, United Nations Commission on Human Rights

Peter Bergen, Director, National Security Studies Program, New America Foundation

Regards

Mike

[M-A Lagrange]

Content became a separate thread as a RFI and author updated.

[jmm99]

As Emmerson points out, drones ain't about to go away. See, from National Defense: Worldwide, Drones Are in High Demand (May 2013, by Dan Parsons), as illustrated by this Brazilian example:



Brazil is not an established drone player - yet:

World of Drones.jpg

but, it certainly looks like a strong comer. See, Merco Press, Brazil and Israeli companies join to develop unmanned aircraft for border control - Brazilian defence contractor Avibras will join plane maker Embraer SA and the local unit of Israeli Defence Company Elbit Systems in developing unmanned aircraft in Brazil, the companies said on Tuesday (February 6, 2013).

Will drones be effective in a "rain forest" ? That is beyond my expertise; so, I leave it to someone else to pick up that part of the thread. If they are effective for recon, intel, etc., in the "rain forest"; one wonders how long it will take for them to be weaponized. Crossbow, fusil, etc.

Regards

Mike

[slapout9]

Video of Domino's experimental Pizza Delivery Drone....What is that famous expression........May you live in interesting times.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDXuGQRpvs4

[davidbfpo]

A tale of incompetence, fraught relations across the Atlantic and millions wasted. Hardly the image we have of German omni-competence:http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-902132.html

[Fuchs]

A tale of incompetence, fraught relations across the Atlantic and millions wasted. Hardly the image we have of German omni-competence:http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-902132.html

Why don't you read good blogs?

2013/05/13
Euro Hawk is a no-go for the Bundeswehr

[Firn]

Video of Domino's experimental Pizza Delivery Drone....What is that famous expression........May you live in interesting times.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDXuGQRpvs4

I'm actually a bit surprised by the range and altitude obtained by those first-person view (FPV) drones.

V Bixler to 3019m! Amazing view!

Quadcopter freestyle is also worth a watch IMHO.

Drones won't go away, indeed. In general I see a couple of strong trends supporting the drone market:

1) Rapid technological progress on many levels, from miniaturisation of key components to better software devolopment. The FPV goggles are just one example of it. Like in other areas the specific development profits from bigger trends, in this case virtual reality visors for gaming.

2) Increasingly better understanding and integration from the demand side, all the various costumers. The last ten years have certainly greatly enhanced the overall drone knowledge and organisations have and will find new and smarter ways to use them. This feeds like point 1 into point 3.

3) The industrial base is far stronger and wider then ever before and the markets have become increasingly competitive. The amount of know-how and the pace of development have certainly increased vastly.


Other important points have already been raised in the thread. I would just end this short comment with a nod to the satellites in space. While there will always be tasks that only humans right up there can do, increasingly smaller satellites can do other jobs much more efficiently.

[Firn]

Just a short comment about the EuroHawk...

That bit is just pure gold, if true.

The contracts with the Americans were filled with oddities. For instance, Northrop Grumman was not required to disclose all blueprints for the drone, even though this is necessary to obtain flight certification from German aviation authorities.

In addition, German drone pilots were not given the right to fly the Euro Hawk. Instead, the German Defense Ministry had to ask Northrop Grumman for permission to fly the drone. Only when a pilot sat down at the computer in California could the drone take off in Germany. This is still the case today and, as a result, the German pilots trained specifically to fly the Euro Hawk sit around doing nothing. To keep their pilot's licenses from expiring, they fly training flights on Lufthansa training jets -- at the government's expense.

I'm surprised that anybody would accept such contracts. Northrop likely had a lot of internal red flags but was rightly quite happy that other side rather foolishly accepted. Still it is overall not good news for them, as their reputations as a reliable and trustworthy partner in the drone business was certainly not enhanced.

From a German point of view it surprises me a bit that after relative small drones they went very high-end, which makes point 2 not quite relevant. More internal knowhow would have certainly helped them. Bloody expensive stuff in either case, if the numbers are true:

In 2011, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) expressed interest in acquiring at least four RQ-4B and support equipment to increase intelligence capabilities following the exchange of the Wartime Operational Control from the U.S. to the Republic of Korea. Government officials debated on the topic of the Global Hawks and its own domestic UAV programs.[78] In September 2011, the US and South Korea discussed aircraft deployments near its border with North Korea to view North Korea and the North Korea–China border.[79] In January 2012, DAPA announced that it would not proceed with a purchase due to a price rise from US$442M to US$899M, and that other platforms such as the Global Observer or the Phantom Eye were being investigated.[80] However, in December 2012, South Korea notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale of 4 RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk UAVs with the Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion.[81]

(From Wikipedia)