Drones and the Rivalry Between the U.S. and China. THIS week the Navy will launch an entirely autonomous combat drone — without a pilot on a joystick anywhere — off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the George H. W. Bush. The drone will then try to land aboard the same ship, a feat only a relatively few human pilots in the world can accomplish. This exercise is the beginning of a new chapter in military history: autonomous drone warfare. But it is also an ominous turn in a potentially dangerous military rivalry now building between the United States and China. The X-47B, a stealth plane nicknamed “the Robot” by Navy crews, is a big bird — 38 feet long, with a 62-foot wingspan — that flies at high subsonic speeds with a range of over 2,000 miles.
And these, of course, are among the key things China has invested in during its crash-course military modernization. Though China still has miles to go in developing a carrier fleet to rival America’s, the landing demonstrates its ambitions. By themselves, naval rivalries do not start wars. Will the Navy's New Killer Drones Hunt Terrorists or Fight China? The X-47B after its first carrier flight Tuesday.
Photo: Navy America’s ship-launched X-47B killer drone prototype took off for the first time from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush sailing near the Maryland coast on Tuesday morning — the first step in proving that a high-performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is compatible with the Navy’s fleet of 10 gigantic nuclear-powered flattops. But that doesn’t mean the sailing branch will definitely be purchasing similar jet-powered drones for frontline use. According to Bob Work, until recently the Navy undersecretary and a big supporter of armed UAVs, the sea service must choose between X-47B-style ‘bots and a simpler, propeller-driven drone similar to the Air Force’s Predator. The Navy’s wager makes could determine the course of U.S. air power for decades. The X-47B and planned follow-on models offer high speed and the ability to evade enemy radars, but at a cost of potentially tens of millions of dollars apiece. Raspberry Pi heads for the open ocean.
20 March 2013Last updated at 03:56 ET By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News Early tests have put a Pi-controlled concept craft through its paces in calm waters In the same way that sport reveals character, the Raspberry Pi is revealing the creativity of the people who own one of the barebones computers.
Confronted with that tiny device, some have seen a way to play old arcade games, as a media server or to monitor their sleeping children. There are some that have used a Pi to control balloons that float to the edge of space. And then there is Greg Holloway. On receiving his Raspberry Pi, Mr Holloway did not want to try anything that he calls "a bit run of the mill". So, he thought big. His Raspberry Pi will be used to control a robot boat that will pilot itself across the Atlantic Ocean.
"I just wanted to do something a bit more adventurous," he said. Long voyage Work on the Fish Pi hardware and software has now been under way for about 12 months. Kit idea. Wired's Anderson on 3D Robotics Drone Sales: Video. Unmanned Flight: The Drones Come Home. At the edge of a stubbly, dried-out alfalfa field outside Grand Junction, Colorado, Deputy Sheriff Derek Johnson, a stocky young man with a buzz cut, squints at a speck crawling across the brilliant, hazy sky.
It’s not a vulture or crow but a Falcon—a new brand of unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, and Johnson is flying it. The sheriff ’s office here in Mesa County, a plateau of farms and ranches corralled by bone-hued mountains, is weighing the Falcon’s potential for spotting lost hikers and criminals on the lam. A laptop on a table in front of Johnson shows the drone’s flickering images of a nearby highway. Standing behind Johnson, watching him watch the Falcon, is its designer, Chris Miser. Rock-jawed, arms crossed, sunglasses pushed atop his shaved head, Miser is a former Air Force captain who worked on military drones before quitting in 2007 to found his own company in Aurora, Colorado. The Falcon can fly for an hour, and it’s easy to operate.
Offspring of 9/11 Dreaming in Dayton.