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US Army retires its first drone
Military drones may still seem like relatively fresh concepts, but they're officially old hat as of this month: the US Army has retired its first-ever drone, IAI's Hunter, after 20 (!) years of service. The robotic recon veteran will now see use only through government-owned contractor support units. The troops, meanwhile, will upgrade to the General Atomics Gray Eagle, which boasts better sensors on top of greater endurance (25 hours instead of 12) and a higher altitude ceiling (29,000 feet versus 15,000).
Israel is building a futuristic 'hover-monorail' that could come to the US
"Ehh, it's not for you, Tel Aviv -- it's more of a Shelbyville idea." We doubt a company called skyTran used Lyle Lanley's pitch, but it just announced that a futuristic train test loop will be built at the Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) campus in Lod, Israel. SkyTran's so-called personal rapid transit is a magnetic levitation (maglev) system that'll propel two-person pods along a monorail-type track. In theory, you'd order a car by smartphone, get picked up at a station and be whisked to your destination. The IAI trial will run at about 45 mph, but future trains will be much faster. If all goes well, the first commercial system will be built at Tel Aviv for $80 million and tracks are also planned for France, India and California. If all this smells of hucksterism, skyTrans is located on NASA's campus and is a Space Act Agreement partner -- it's not Leonard Nimoy, but it's something.
