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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.'"
Gives new meaning to the phrase, "Chinese take-out"
What one fool can do, another can. (Ancient Simian Proverb)
It's not technically stolen. We started by sending our manufacturing plants to China, higher Technical jobs, followed by Research jobs... Now China has l everything it needs to build new technology: Manufacturing + qualified labour + brains... Just yesterday i was thinking: Can US build a LCD with 100% us manufactured components... I'm thinking the answer is No.
BSD licensed software can't be stolen....
before china and the west come into conflict of interest. That is why we need to move industry out of there to vietnam or another friendly country.
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!
One unintended consequence of the CIA's armed UAV air strikes is the US has basically said it is legal to target persons in third countries with UAVs. Sooner or later the Chinese will do the same. The US will protest, and China will remind them that they are only doing what the CIA has been doing for years.
A tiny UAV can't carry any meaningful cargo
A comment which shows a surprising lack of imagination. How much does $5 million worth of diamonds weigh? Or how about large numbers of flights carrying small amounts of say, cocaine or heroin?
We have numerous technologies for shooting down missiles
Yes but this is a model aircraft traveling at 35mph and 100ft in the air, with virtually no heat signature (especially the electric ones powered by lithium batteries) and very little radar signature. How will your 5 million dollar missile distinguish between this and ground clutter?
As for infrastructure - right. You won't bust bunkers with this, but I wonder what a couple of them filled with incendiary material could do to a petrochemical tank farm or an oil refinery...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.