MQ-9
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US military wants more lethal drone strikes
Despite doubts about the effectiveness of US drone airstrikes in war-torn nations, the Pentagon wants to dramatically increase them. An unnamed official told the WSJ that military commanders intend to bump the number of daily flights by 50 percent. UAVs like the MQ-9 Reaper would not only aid with surveillance in regions like Ukraine, the Middle East and the South China Sea, but also perform more targeted missile strikes. The Pentagon says it needs the surge in drone activity -- the first since 2011 -- to deal with new conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.
US Navy Fire Scouts will automatically spot pirates, give 30 seconds to comply
War. What is it good for? Well, if new use of technology by the US Navy has anything to do with it, finding Pirates for a start. By upgrading its existing Fire Scouts with new 3D laser imaging tech, it's hoped that the drones will be able to recognize the small ships used by these unscrupulous seafarers. The system, known as LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging, also known as LADAR) uses millions of laser pulses reflected off an object to create the three-dimensional image, which could then referenced against known pirate ships from a database. Ultimately, human operators will make the final call, to avoid any ED-209 style mis-understandings. That said, if you're taking the dingy out past the Californian breakwaters this summer, you might want to keep the stars and stripes in clear view, as that's where the Navy will be running its initial trials.
MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV resists its human oppressors, joyrides over Washington DC
A Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV strayed into restricted airspace above Washington DC after departing Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland on August 2, the result of a software logic flaw that caused the operator to momentarily lose contact with the drone. Programmed to circle when communications are severed, the chopper failed to follow its failure protocol, instead heading twenty-three miles on a north/northwest trajectory -- which could have had serious consequences had it been equipped with 70mm Hydra rocket pods or Hellfire tankbuster missiles. Although this type of incident is rare, it is not unheard of: last September the Air Force had to take down an MQ-9 Reaper in Afghanistan when it failed to adhere to failure protocols after dropping communications with the ground. At least, that's what we'd like to believe... the alternative scenario is too frightening to consider.
