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Israeli Super Drone Stolen
kristy_christie writes "Globes Online reports that Steadicopter's prototype pilotless helicopter was stolen a few days after the completion of its test program and final test flights. Interesting to note that Steadicopter claims that their helicopter is unique and there is no other of its kind in the world."
Stolen? There are only a few superpowers in the world that have the technology to maintain and use such a device.
Possible reasons:
- Ransom
- One time suicide mission
- To cause Israel to lose face (and 5 mil)
- Sale (blah, blah... profit)
It's going to take a very impressive effort to get something like this out of the country without being noticed.
The shmucks stole the device but not the software?
Which suggests it is an inside job. They already copied the software. Such an ambitious peice of theft would be difficult without some type of insider.
Again, this suggests industrial espionage. Company A (with expertise in such a thing) implants an employee in company B (with expertise in such a thing). There can only be a limited number of people in the world who could peform this theft and make use of it.
What happens when a big gust of wind hits it, or it flies into an area of much different air pressure?
Don't forget, there are a number of piloted helicopter accidents each year, from CAREFlights to the guys in Hawaii who fly tourists around. It's very easy to lose control.
Not to mention all the software needed to interact with the payload, which might be anything from a camera that needs to send data back securely to something that needs to be dumped over a target (needing software to control the door and/or arm, and the ability to compensate when the payload is released and the vehicle is suddenly that much lighter, and possibly automatic visual confirmation of location, because GPS may not be accurate enough, especially if this is a military venture)...
Get off my launchpad!
though, if the whole nation relies on that maybe it makes sense.
Israel relies on US military hardware and goodwill in a wide range of areas. No surprise there.
Many NATO allies also use GPS-dependent equipment.
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
holy crap...a pilotless copter with no [hidden] tracking device? wouldn't you think that even in a normal planned test it could possibly get lost and need to be hunted down? wouldn't common sense dictate for such an expensive project that you put a satellite received beacon like they use to find lost skiers or something? c'mon.
I can't say I have personal experience, but I've heard from people who are supposed to know that flying a helicopter is much more difficult than flying a plane. A helicopter has a much greater degree of freedom, and much less tolerance for error. It's not that long ago that simply keeping one of these things steady in the air was considered a major feat. Seriously.
The U.S. aid to Israel is only several percent of Israel's gross national product.
Saying that Isreal is depnedant on the US is like saing that, since most of the grain in the world is growen in the US, the only people who are not dependant on the US are those who live in Africe. (they can't pay for US grain...)
As of Postgres v6.2, time travel is no longer supported.
bans on inter-racial marriages - did you even read your link? The only kind of marriage that is banned is civil marriage between two jews. And after the last elections, the new goverment's agreements include law changes designed to prevent any situation in which two consenting adults can not be wed (unless relatives). The only limitation on palastinians is in immigration laws, preventing the marriage from giving automatic residency, because of a trend of fictive marriages.
Work permits too are an immigration issue, you don't consider the limitations on H1B visas racist, do you?
Anyway, that was only a prototype, and the only one, where is the logic in selling that ?
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html
As it appears to upset you that Israel is using what you call 'coded references' does it also upset you what the PA does?
"The PA Ministries of Education and Sport have turned the most abhorrent murderers of Jews into role models and heroes for Palestinian youth. [For instance, a] tournament for 11-year-old boys was named for Abd Al-Baset Odeh - the terrorist who murdered 30 in the Passover Seder suicide bombing. This past summer, during the period of the US-sponsored Road Map, numerous summer camps were named for suicide bombers... As recently as September this year, PA Chairman Arafat and 13 PA leaders jointly sponsored a soccer tournament honoring arch terrorists... Each of the 24 soccer teams was named for a terrorist or other Shahids [Martyrs], including some of the most infamous murderers like Yichye Ayash, the first Hamas bomb engineer, who initiated the suicide bombings..."
List of countries on the Israeli side: USA
List of countries on the PA side: Most/All of the Arab world.
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist, not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushu'a in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population." - Moshe Dayan, probably one of the most frank Israeli zionists.
He also said at the funeral of an Israeli farmer : 'Let us not today fling accusation at the murderers. What cause have we to complain about their fierce hatred to us? For eight years now, they sit in their refugee camps in Gaza, and before their eyes we turn into our homestead the land and villages in which they and their forefathers have lived.. . Let us make our reckoning today. We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house. . . . Let us not be afraid to see the hatred the accompanies and consumes the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arabs..'
You see Israel has chosen to steal and fight for the land they occupy. To complain about being attacked by the people whose land they themselves stole is prepostorous. The palestinians are resisting the occupation using any means possible just as you would if your homeland was invaded. The Israelis are responding. It's a war and IMHO both sides are fighting it equally as horribly.
You know that really is a pretty ironic comment when you think about it. I have not met Prince Bandar, but I know the Saudi regime quite well. It is every bit as miserable as Saddam's regime in Iraq, the secret police are brutal, the courts capricious, critics of the regime tend to 'disappear'. On top of that you have the imposition of Whahabbi Islam, a miserable cult, in a form that is only slightly less severe than that of the Saudi funded Taliban.
The Saudi regime has a big interest in making sure that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict remains nicely on the boil so that they can direct their internal conflict onto an external source.
If you read what the Saudi government and press say about the situation inside Saudi I suspect you would have a different view of the reliability of the royal family.
As for Clinton, you are picking and choosing. Clinton has stated on numerous occassions that the settlements are 'obstacles to peace'.
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
It seems Arafat is more dependant on foreign aid than most Palestinians...
Also, ever wonder why Israel who is seemingly the enemy of the multi-billion dollar Arab oil cartel is doing so much more culturally, scientifically, and humanitary than all of them combined? I mean, the amount of money Israel get from the US is pennies compared to the US dollars pouring into these oil rich Arab nations in aid and oil trade. But Israel has world class Universities, research institutes, and a more diverse economy.
But those Arab dictatorships will stay in power as long as they can convince people that Israel and the US are the reasons for their problems.
I can't believe it. Something that actually makes sense coming from you. I may need to remove you from my foes list.
Sharon and Arafat have the blood of civillians on their hands. Neither of them is in a position to claim moral superiority over the other.
The Palestinians and the Israelis would be better served if they had different leaders.
The death of Rabin was the death of achieving peace in Israel within this generation. We can keep working to achieve that peace for the next generation.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I notice that you didn't mention the fact that the UN has adjudged Israel's (why can't YOU spell Israel, by the way?) occupation illegal.
Ahem, would you like to expand on this fiction?
Yes, numerous times the UN General Assembly has condemned Israel's continued LEGAL stewardship over land in dispute (as defined by the Laws of War and Peace), but I do not recall a single adjudication, by the Security Council or anybody else besides the Soviet Block an dthe Arab League that supports your yarn.
Now, when one nation invades another and the invader gets their ass kicked the winner gets to administer the land until there is a settlement. Those are the international rules, like them or not.
BTW, before you bring up the "P" word, neither Jordan nor Egypt nor Lebannon nor Syria ever made an effort to make an autonomous "Palestine".
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL