Navy Preps Killer Drone for First Carrier Launch

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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The Navy is preparing to test the state of the art X-47B robotic warplane for launch from an aircraft carrier. The drone is the creation of Northrop Grumman Aircraft and will have its first live carrier launch sometime next year after carrier logistics and deck compatibility are fully tested
 
Interesting. Wasn't one of the big selling points of the magnetic catapults on the Ford class that they wouldnt pull drones apart like the steam ones do?

I'm guessing they've just beefed up the drone rather that retro fitting a carrier though?
 
Took them long enough! I remember hearing about this in 2008.
 
I wonder how many G's this thing can pull. How will a normal human maned plane keep up this this pure badass drone. This drone changes everything.
 
Yeah no kidding, a combat radius of 1500 miles compared to the Hornet's 400 miles is really something. The coverage of the carriers is about to get a whole bigger.
 
AeonF1 said:
Yeah no kidding, a combat radius of 1500 miles compared to the Hornet's 400 miles is really something. The coverage of the carriers is about to get a whole bigger.
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WOW, I didn't even think about that. How many of those can they carry on a carrier? I bet a butt load.
 
He's hoping we never run out of bad guys to waste these billions on!
 
Serious Question: What is the closest thing to a drone I can buy and fly legally?
(I want cool shit too you know! I don't even need an armed one either....unless it's available...lol.)
 
bucket said:
He's hoping we never run out of bad guys to waste these billions on!
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This gets easier when you make them as you go. The word "perpetual" comes to mind. Yes, I've learned something from our US government. :D
 
I am curious about the latency of this thing.
 
Having a lot of military friends, the word is that the real reason the "tip of the spear" isn't already unmanned is not for any technical reason but due to strong resistance within the airforce and navy itself against automation.

Although current top gun pilots are also great remote pilots, their skillset is ultimately overkill for these next generation drones and they know it, and they are essentially putting themselves out of a job and devaluing themselves tremendously, aside from the fact that most really ENJOY flying rather than sitting in some ugly cramped box on the ground next to an IT nerd.

And the technical advantages are tremendous when you don't need to design the airplane around a pilot. You can design the plane to endure g-forces that would kill the pilot and there's no need for the weight and size of an ejection seat, or compromises in design to place the pilot in an appropriate position with a good view of his surroundings (particularly a concern when trying to keep a low radar profile) with a pressurized cabin and all the nonsense, and there is less concern over the risks of a mission since it'll mainly just be a concern over dollars and cents and not a life and family back home that will have to be taken care of if the pilot and copilot die.

If we had a REAL enemy that was shooting our planes down left and right in a war with an equally powerful nation, there is no question, most piloted aircraft would be obsolete and retired just as quickly as the transition from prop-planes to jets.
 
Am I the only one that wishes the Navy (or any branch of the DoD) would stop showing off our "state of the art" shit on the internet. I mean shit having stealth capable combat drones with 4x the range of manned planes that can be launched from an aircraft carrier might just be a shock to any foreign military that's stupid enough to engage us to the point where they won't know what the fuck was coming.

"Don't worry the carrier group is 1000 miles away, we don't need to be on alert status yet" *translation from whatever language attacks us* then BAM! Stealth kickass.
 
I've always heard the hard part was landing on a carrier not flying off. When I'll see a test doing that, I'll be impress.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Am I the only one that wishes the Navy (or any branch of the DoD) would stop showing off our "state of the art" shit on the internet. I mean shit having stealth capable combat drones with 4x the range of manned planes that can be launched from an aircraft carrier might just be a shock to any foreign military that's stupid enough to engage us to the point where they won't know what the fuck was coming.

"Don't worry the carrier group is 1000 miles away, we don't need to be on alert status yet" *translation from whatever language attacks us* then BAM! Stealth kickass.
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Well, I'm sure we want China's navy to continue to respect us. When the respect is high there is less likelihood they will fire the first shot. Not that we're on the brink of anything now. The war in Taiwan will begin when China's respect our presence greatly diminishes.
 
MrPatate said:
I've always heard the hard part was landing on a carrier not flying off. When I'll see a test doing that, I'll be impress.
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I do agree that's the hard part, but it may potentially be a lot better than human pilots when it comes to night carrier landings since it doesn't have to worry about darkness, fatigue, and fear. The thought of a Navy carrier getting a squadron of stealth long range drones that will demolish important targets overnight is just going to make it that much harder for any nation that decides to incite our wrath.
 
MasonD said:
Serious Question: What is the closest thing to a drone I can buy and fly legally?
(I want cool shit too you know! I don't even need an armed one either....unless it's available...lol.)
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The first drones were just professional RC planes with some hi-tech gadgets thrown on.

With the right kit plane/copter, some homemade breadboards+logic (raspberry pi anyone?) and some munitions, you could literally make a lethal "drone" over a long weekend.

Obviously not any GPS guided stuff, but you could easily have a firearm or "dumb" rocket mounted on one with little to no issues.

Enjoy that visit from the FBI, btw.
 
MasonD said:
Serious Question: What is the closest thing to a drone I can buy and fly legally?
(I want cool shit too you know! I don't even need an armed one either....unless it's available...lol.)
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Autonomous. Set waypoint, throw it, and forget about it. It's also set to return to home if anything goes wrong, so if you lose sight of it, turn off the radio and it'll go to a higher altitude before coming back to avoid buildings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s_A4MT5h3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiXrc4w0bv8

If you're not really going for long ranges, and just want a birds eyeview of everything, a quadrotor should be good enough, and it can land by itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9pHj5CeZQg


Both go for under a grand each (i think you can actually buy both for a grand? You don't need two groundstations). Quads last about 20 minutes, planes can just be filled to capacity with batteries. Tho i do remember there was some issue about FPV drones in american airspace, so check if they're allowed in your area first. If drones are a hassle over there, i'd hate to see what gets stirred up if they find out you had one of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkHkWy9S4nw

There's also site where you can buy RC receiver compatible electronic fireworks igniters (i.e. dual rocket pods).
 
MasonD said:
Serious Question: What is the closest thing to a drone I can buy and fly legally?
(I want cool shit too you know! I don't even need an armed one either....unless it's available...lol.)
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i fly RC helis
so i ask how much do you want to spend 10k will get you an unlimited waypoint GPS guided set up just tell it where to go and what to do on skill needed

mind you using a sUAS for any thing but "fun" is illegal in the US with a few expection for the gov't and some others

technically what i fly is a drone by definition lol
so here is my drone lol



and some video from it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Z9EKE9Bq4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYJP51PPBH8
 
sfsuphysics said:
Am I the only one that wishes the Navy (or any branch of the DoD) would stop showing off our "state of the art" shit on the internet. I mean shit having stealth capable combat drones with 4x the range of manned planes that can be launched from an aircraft carrier might just be a shock to any foreign military that's stupid enough to engage us to the point where they won't know what the fuck was coming.

"Don't worry the carrier group is 1000 miles away, we don't need to be on alert status yet" *translation from whatever language attacks us* then BAM! Stealth kickass.
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One would hope that part of the goal of a modern military would be to avoid conflict whenever possible ... the Teddy Roosevelt "Walk softly and carry a big stick" approach ... and announcing our superior technology should help with that ;) ...

Besides, there is so much spying going on between the big and small powers that it would be almost impossible to keep a secret weapon "secret" very long in today's connected age, so you might as well announce it openly

Finally, we are a big salesman of military hardware (like the French and Russians) so announcing our tech does help us sell it to allies :cool:
 
sfsuphysics said:
Am I the only one that wishes the Navy (or any branch of the DoD) would stop showing off our "state of the art" shit on the internet. I mean shit having stealth capable combat drones with 4x the range of manned planes that can be launched from an aircraft carrier might just be a shock to any foreign military that's stupid enough to engage us to the point where they won't know what the fuck was coming.

"Don't worry the carrier group is 1000 miles away, we don't need to be on alert status yet" *translation from whatever language attacks us* then BAM! Stealth kickass.
Click to expand...

Dude, history has shown that cutting edge technology is not shown in the public eye. Not until the leaks get too great or the DoD want to show it off.

Trust me, you see what they want you to see. Its what you dont see that scares China and others.
 
Yeah another remote killer so people sit back and kill.

This would be great if we're under robot/zombie/alien attack but when it to our own kind it should be face to face so war can be so horrible we'll think twice before doing it and pursue other options.
 
Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, December 21st.
 
Afterward, the Stealth Bombers flew with perfect operational records, and eventually the Skynet Funding Bill was passed.
 
DooKey said:
Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, December 21st.
Click to expand...

Vucelick said:
Afterward, the Stealth Bombers flew with perfect operational records, and eventually the Skynet Funding Bill was passed.
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Well done you two, hehe. Exactly what went on in my mind when I read that news article :D

Code: 
In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
Skynet fights back.
 
DooKey said:
Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, December 21st.
Click to expand...

Didn't see them sqeeze the mayan BS in to that scrpt lol. Was the calender even being talked about back then?

Hollywood:p
 
Bamboo said:
Didn't see them sqeeze the mayan BS in to that scrpt lol. Was the calender even being talked about back then?

Hollywood:p
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No, I think he was just joking:


Originally, Skynet became self-aware on August 4th, 1997, and Judgment Day ensued on August 29th. Then, there were a few rescheduled robotic Armageddons in the mid-2000s as Terminator progressed through a batch of sequels. Most recently, J-Day ended up getting pushed backed all the way to 2011, as revealed in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
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From here: http://singularityhub.com/2011/04/19/skynet-becomes-aware-launches-nuclear-attack-on-humanity/
 
sfsuphysics said:
Am I the only one that wishes the Navy (or any branch of the DoD) would stop showing off our "state of the art" shit on the internet. I mean shit having stealth capable combat drones with 4x the range of manned planes that can be launched from an aircraft carrier might just be a shock to any foreign military that's stupid enough to engage us to the point where they won't know what the fuck was coming.

"Don't worry the carrier group is 1000 miles away, we don't need to be on alert status yet" *translation from whatever language attacks us* then BAM! Stealth kickass.
Click to expand...

While it would be funny to keep all our capabilities secret and then when aggression was thrown at us we utterly annihilated the opposition, it would cause undue stress on the nation's population and ultimately lead to political mistrust between us and the world because we refuse to share our technology with our allies...we would become the outcasts of the world. Also, as was said before, the US has a policy of walk softly but carry a big stick. We want the world to know about our capabilities to ensure nobody fucks with us.

It will be a lot more interesting when they develop a VTOL attack drone, then they could cram even more on the deck with each one just taking off and landing from an assigned spot on the deck, launch times would be nearly instant.

I would like to know what kind of specs that thing has...speed, ceiling, payload capabilities....looks amazing.
 
watched the video a couple times and something clearly comes up with using this on a carrier. while it appears one can LAUNCH the thing.. just how is it supposed to land? I see no tail hook or even a place for one. Are they intending to use nettings to catch these things upon return?
 
mullet said:
I wonder how many G's this thing can pull. How will a normal human maned plane keep up this this pure badass drone. This drone changes everything.
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Is this the same drone we lost on purpose in Iran?

And SR-71 Blackbird, that is all.
 
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