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China Demonstrates 25+ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

overThruster writes "The Wall Street Journal and Defense News report that China had more than 25 different unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on display at the Zhuhai Airshow. In addition to a jet powered UAV that is potentially faster than US made drones such as the Predator and Reaper, the Chinese have developed an unmanned 'thopter' for surveillance. 'ASN showed off 10 different UAVs, including the new ASN-211 Flapping Wing Aircraft System, which simulates a bird in flight. The prototype on display has a take-off weight of only 220 grams with a maximum speed of six-to-10 meters a second and an altitude ranging from 20-200 meters. A spokesperson said the micro-UAV would mainly be used for low-altitude reconnaissance for troops in the field.'"

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Ornithopter, FTW. by VortexCortex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sure ornithopters are great, but what I really want is a personal submarine that looks like a shark, or perhaps a subway train that drills its own tunnels, like a worm.

    1. Re:Ornithopter, FTW. by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Price for a custom built Seabreacher is dependent on the number of options that a customer chooses, but price tends to range from US$ 65,000 for a standard model to upwards of US$ 85,000 for a high-performance, heavily customized version.

      This is about the same price that a BMW M5 will put you back. If you've got the money, I guess your buying choice will depend on whether you live near water, or the Nürburgring.

      DISCLAIMER: I rode a couple of laps around the Nürburgring in an M5 driven a professional race driver chick. It was a hoot and a half, to see how she passed guys with too much money, driving Porsches. They didn't want to believe that they were being overtaken by a chick in a white BMW.

      God damn that car was fast, but I think that driver, and her knowledge of the track really made the difference!

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  2. Re:How much is stolen? by sirrunsalot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As far as I know we haven't outsourced our UAV development, so back to the topic of the article about UAV's and lets try to compare what they have copied.

    Of course you mean we haven't legally outsourced our UAV development to China.

  3. Re:Well, maybe in the next World War ... by timeOday · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hawks don't think that way though; the basic premise is the enemy is so intrinsically evil that your only option is to be evil first, beating him to the punch. Thus (by definition) a provocation or bad precedent by the good guys is just a head start on what would have happened anyways, since (unfortunately) the bad guys are so evil.