Saturday, May 28, 2011
"Teeny-Tiny Drone Fires Teeny-Tiny Missile (Gulp)"
I guess this shouldn't surprise us as all things technological seem to get smaller.
This is not likely to be the limit.
These missiles weigh 10 pounds. Poison darts weigh much less...
This is not likely to be the limit.
These missiles weigh 10 pounds. Poison darts weigh much less...
Spencer Ackerman writes about them at Wired.com:
"The Arcturus company built its eponymous drone as the unmanned aerial equivalent of a compact car. Its wingspan is just over 17 feet, making it slightly smaller than the Army and Marine Corps’ Shadow drone. Arcturus is “primarily” a spy plane, says engineer Eric Folkestad. Emphasis on “primarily.”
Because the life-size Arcturus on display at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference here has a conspicuous add-on under its left wing. That’s a Saber, a 10-pound laser-guided missile (.pdf) manufactured by MBDA. In tests, Arcturus discovered that the wings of its drone can carry 22 pounds’ worth of cargo, making it a candidate to wield MBDA’s missiles"
