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US Army to fly 'kamikaze' drones
AFP ^ | Oct. 17, 2011

Posted on 10/17/2011 7:40:01 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY

A miniature "kamikaze" drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army's arsenal, officials say.

Dubbed the "Switchblade," the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants.

Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.

Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.

"Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target," it said.

The drone then flies into the "target," detonating a small explosive.

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Wow...less than a second behind you with that pic.


21 posted on 10/17/2011 8:10:18 PM PDT by Jeff Head (Liberty is not free. Never has been, never will be. (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
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To: Free ThinkerNY; RitaOK

That’ll work well against Tea Party and Oathkeepers leaders.


22 posted on 10/17/2011 8:10:24 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.~Yamamoto)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Video taken at AUVSI: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhKixW5PHbw. Awesome launch, target acquisition and obliterate sequence.
23 posted on 10/17/2011 8:11:50 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Talisker

Great scene from one of my favourite sci-fi flicks. The book was pretty good, too.


24 posted on 10/17/2011 8:16:48 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: RitaOK

Yeah. What could possibly go wrong with this?


25 posted on 10/17/2011 8:16:48 PM PDT by Martin Tell (ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Back in the summer there was a video that came around showing these “SwitchBlades” in operation. With the wings folded back, several of them, plus the launch tube and a video monitor will fit in a backpack. A GI can set up the tube and launch one in a minute, and then monitor in real time what its camera is looking at. The battery capacity is such that the weapon can “loiter” at altitude for quite a while, and can be guided right to the selected target by the GI with the video monitor. In the demo I saw, the SwitchBlade took out a vehicle of some kind. It packs a pretty good punch with high explosives. I’ll see if I can locate the video on another ‘puter tomorrow.


26 posted on 10/17/2011 8:17:07 PM PDT by Tucker39
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To: Jeff Head

Great timing!


27 posted on 10/17/2011 8:18:45 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Martin Tell

These seem like cowardly weapons.


28 posted on 10/17/2011 8:20:09 PM PDT by omega4179
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To: Publius6961

“I just hope these disposable drones go for a lot less than $500,000”

Yeah- what’s the pricetag?


29 posted on 10/17/2011 8:20:31 PM PDT by BonRad (Ut Roma cadit, sic omnis terra -As Rome falls, so the entire world)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Thank you, POF. That’s the video I was refering to in Reply 26. Now I won’t have to hunt for my copy. Happy trails.


30 posted on 10/17/2011 8:25:57 PM PDT by Tucker39
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To: Tucker39
Maybe you are thinking of this video?
31 posted on 10/17/2011 8:26:09 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Free ThinkerNY
>>> US Army to fly 'kamikaze' drones

Early prototype.


32 posted on 10/17/2011 8:29:54 PM PDT by tlb
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To: Free ThinkerNY
The Germans had these in WW2- small tv-guided drones with a grenade in the nose

they called them

`VolksflugenfindenslofendumpkofenReichblasten`

33 posted on 10/17/2011 8:33:06 PM PDT by bunkerhill7
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To: omega4179
These seem like cowardly weapons.

There is no cowardly weapon. There are only cowards.

And to be honest, honcho? I'm all good with amuscading the bad guy from an unexpected direction.

Honor means going home to your kids, and raising them right. Ater making the goblins toasty.

/johnny

34 posted on 10/17/2011 8:33:22 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (gone Galt)
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To: JRandomFreeper

Amen


35 posted on 10/17/2011 8:35:52 PM PDT by Dr.Zoidberg (Warning: Sarcasm/humor is always engaged. Failure to recognize this may lead to misunderstandings.)
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To: JRandomFreeper

What’s that saying? Something like “If it’s a fair fight, your tactics suck.” ? OTOH, it is getting a bit creepy with some of this stuff. I think they have, or at least experimenting with small insect-like spy drones - like a dragonfly. I guess as long as it is just used against “the bad guys”. Of course that could mean us in a few more years. (And obviously that goes for all weapons).


36 posted on 10/17/2011 8:41:58 PM PDT by 21twelve (Obama Recreating the New Deal: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185147/posts)
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To: 21twelve
I guess as long as it is just used against “the bad guys”. Of course that could mean us in a few more years. (And obviously that goes for all weapons).

Stay current, or risk that your genetic line ends.

And you are correct, if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying.

I won't give the counters here that I came up with when I heard about this, but there are quite a few.

There are NO perfect weapon systems. They all have flaws.

Then, it falls back to logistics to figure out what they are, and how to exploit them. Rinse and repeat since the early 1600s.

/johnny

37 posted on 10/17/2011 8:46:27 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (gone Galt)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Check out this link:
Here's some of the rather broad categories Homeland Security classifies with domestic threats:
Alternative media- A term used to describe various information sources that provide a forum for interpretations of events and issues that differ radically from those presented in mass media products and outlets.
Racist skinheads- Groups or individuals who combine white supremacist ideology with a skinhead ethos in which “white power” music plays a central role. Some are abandoning these stereotypical identifiers.
Tax Resistance movement

Apparently, Patrons of the Main-Stream Media,
Proponents of White Dis-enpowerment,
and the Advocates of Higher Taxes protesting across the nation, (although promoting anarchy and calling for revolution) are just dandy.

38 posted on 10/17/2011 8:48:42 PM PDT by jonatron (This is the Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave.)
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To: JRandomFreeper
I'm all good with amuscading the bad guy from an unexpected direction.

Seems like a cowardly way to settle one's differences.

Upon seeing one's enemies, one should walk over an introduce oneself, demarcate a ring, and settle differences mano-a-mano using Marquess of Queensberry rules.

I am pleased to be jocose, of course. But eventually, weapons the size of insects will make life for your average ground pounder an ephemeral experience indeed.

And so long as it's the other guy's ground pounders, I'm all for it.

39 posted on 10/17/2011 8:49:12 PM PDT by Hoplite
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Just another Precision Guided Munition but the press goes wild. How long before someone calls this “cowardly” or “unfair”.


40 posted on 10/17/2011 8:52:50 PM PDT by SunTzuWu
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