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Army Building an Airport Just For Drones
schwit1 writes The Army's ever-growing use of unmanned aerial systems has gotten to the point where two of the most commonly used UAS are getting their own airport. The service's Corps of Engineers at Fort Worth, Texas, has awarded a $33 million contract to SGS to build a 150-acre unmanned aircraft launch and recovery complex at Fort Bliss for Grey Eagle and Shadow UAS.
In related news, the FAA has just cleared 4 companies (Trimble Navigation Limited, VDOS Global, Clayco Inc. and Woolpert Inc.) to use drones commercially, for purposes such as site inspection and aerial surveys. (A lot of drones are already in use, of course, but the FAA doesn't like it.)
That and "associated maintenance shops, administrative space, storage space, 5-ton bridge crane, oil/water separator, aircraft container and forklift storage, UAV runway, taxiway, access apron, oil and hazardous waste storage buildings, vehicle storage facilities, organizational vehicle parking, and overhead protection/canopy"
You need shelter for the aircraft (hangars), storage for fuel and other consumables (ammunition, film/data storage, etc), repair facilities and their associated storage requirements, facilities for the personnel assigned to the base (at the very least breakrooms and bathrooms, not to mention workspaces and command/control facilities, and probably housing as well-which comes with its own needs), a control tower with both visual and equipment navigation, and of course security personnel and the related infrastructure needed to secure and patrol a secure-access facility. I don't think 10 grand and an old KMart would be able to supply all of those things.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
I guess now we know who pushes those "news stories" about all the near-catastrophic near-misses
The FAA is an example of regulatory capture. It is run by aviators for the interest of pilots and aviation companies, who see drones as a threat to their businesses and jobs. So they push the stories that fit the narrative that drones are an evil threat. The FAAs regulations have become so draconian, that it is technically illegal to toss a frisbee.
Not sure this is something you could crack off from a kmart parking lot.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/ae5d20f/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2Fd3%2Fdd56dff8b3364db93f0786ba87db6b%2F43931widemodern_drone_070213.jpg
http://img.rt.com/files/news/1f/be/20/00/an-x-47b-drone.si.jpg
These are medium sized ones.
They also many times reuse old F-XX type craft and turn them into drones. Never mind most kmart parking lots are located in residential type areas and the noise of jet aircraft taking off and landing seems to upset people... (go figure...)
You may be thinking of those little toy rc aircraft people have been playing with that have a camera on them. Then yeah you could do that. But the military basically lives by 'go big or go home'. They do that because they want to land 500-2000lb bombs on buildings and obliterate them. Your little ac craft from amazon probably will not pull that off...
tl;dr These are full out aircraft they are messing with. Not small rc model planes. You need an airstrip for that.
First result:
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2226688/wireless/drone-crashes-into-triathlete--operator-blames--hacker---victim.html
Drone crashes into triathlete; operator blames 'hacker,' victim
'My hair was completely red with blood'
Network World | Apr 7, 2014 11:39 AM PT
When you hear "drone" you probably are picturing civilian quad copters. While some military drones are that small, others are substantial aircraft. The Air Force's Global Hawk weighs over ten tons and requires a runway 3700 feet long to take off.
Obviously some military drones can be hand launched, but the MQ-1Cs mentioned in the article weigh 2200 lbs fully loaded and requires a minimum runway of 2000 feet.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
A full on drone base ont heborder.
Grey Eagle
Maximum speed: 150 knots (170 mph; 280 km/h)
Endurance: 30 hours
Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,840 m)
Shadow UAS
Maximum speed: 127 mph; 204 km/h (110 kn)
Cruising speed: 81 mph; 130 km/h (70 kn)
Range: 68 mi (59 nmi; 109 km)
Endurance: 6 h/ 9 h Increased Endurance
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,572 m) ELOS (Electronic Line Of Sight)
Border operations? I wonder what else.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
They are already here.
No wonder you post anonymous.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
By the time they pad out the budget, get some money for black projects, pay $10K for a hammer ... this should easily hit a few hundred million.
I think there's a common misconception that this "pad out" occurs on purpose. Most of the military officers involved in procurement are still wet behind the ears, and fresh out of college. Requirements come extremely poorly written, and any long term project often ends up with those officers being replaced as the originals move on to their next duty assignment. That means that the next guy in charge frequently changes the whole project.
Don't get me wrong, these aren't the only reasons for high expense on military projects, but they are a huge factor.
Just another day in Paradise
That's nothing, democracy built a society of drones.
Oh! You mean the robot planes. Sorry, my bad.
Futurist Traditionalism
As a pilot, in the drone industry ... bullshit. The FAA's job is to enhance the safety of aviation. The fewer people who can afford to fly, the safer. On the drone side of things, I've yet to work with anyone in the FAA, govt employee or contractor, who is a pilot or has any interests in flying beyond a means to get somewhere. On the other hand, they have a laser focus on safety, and aren't going to push out half-assed bullshit safety regulations to make the nascent drone industry happy. Simply put, to meet current aviation safety standards, drones will be unaffordable for almost every use case. It turns out that system engineering and redundancy are expensive, and that the magic of drones goes away when they have to meet safety standards.