Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Switchblade . . .

"DRONE" TECH KEEPS CHANGING. According to DefenseNews, a report from AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE proclaims the addition of Switchblade to the US infantry's arsenal.

Switchblade is a "kamikaze" drone.

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 U.S. Army's arsenal, officials say.

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.

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The Switchblade, however, is touted as a way to avoid killing bystanders.

"Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage," the company said.

The end result of this is that the schwerpunkt is going to become even more lethal as time goes on. How these changes will affect what the strategists call 4GW, aka "wars of liberation" in the coming decades is anybody's guess, as we are at a stage of development roughly equal to WW1 aircraft like Tom Sopwith's Camel.

3 comments:

Rev.Paperboy said...

the question is what happens when a half dozen of these deadly toys get stolen off the back of a truck somewhere and start getting used to attack G20 leaders and corporate chieftains?

double nickel said...

The Rev discovers the updside ;)

Edstock said...

Rev. — nobody asked me, or I would have suggested R/C "Mozzies" for the G20. They should do it for the next one, the police and TV crews will freak.