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British stealth drone to undergo first test flight

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Ripclawe

Banned
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...ealth-drone-to-undergo-first-test-flight.html
taranis-2_2450128b.jpg

It can fly faster than the speed of sound, cannot be detected by radar and has no pilot. This is the new robotic plane that will become the next generation of front line bombers for the British military.

The drone, which is named Taranis after the Celtic god of thunder, has been designed to fly intercontinental missions to attack targets and can automatically dodge incoming missiles.

The aircraft, which has cost £125 million to build, is intended to be the first of a new generation of aeroplanes that will reduce the need to risk human lives on long, dangerous missions.

It is to be flown for the first time in a series of tests over the Australian outback in the spring in an attempt to demonstrate the technology to military chiefs.

Currently the Royal Air Force uses Tornado GR4 bombers as its front line strike aircraft, although the Typhoon Eurofighter is expected to replace it in the coming years.
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Remote controlled drones such as Reaper are also used by the Ministry of Defence and US military to attack targets.

But the Taranis is expected to provide a prototype of a new kind of bomber that will replace piloted planes and the current drones.

With a shape more similar to the US B-2 Stealth bomber, it intended to fly automatically using an on-board computer system to perform manoeuvres, avoid threats and identify targets. Only when it needs to attack a target will it seek authorisation from a human controller.

Nigel Whitehead, group managing director of programmes at BAE Systems, which has been developing Taranis, said the new drone could change the way aircraft are used by the MoD in the future, which currently uses manned planes for combat missions.

He said: “I think that the Taranis programme will be used to inform the UK MoD thinking, regarding the make up for the future force mix. I anticipate that the UK will chose to have a mix of manned and unmanned front-line aircraft.

“This decision will have a major impact on the future of the UK military.”

The Taranis uses stealth technology, including a highly secretive coating that helps it slip through radar undetected. It will be able to carry a series of weapons on board including missiles and laser guided bombs.

The use of drones, however, has come under intense criticism from human rights groups, who claim their use as weapons contravenes international laws as often innocent targets can be killed.

The Reaper and Predator drones currently used by the British and US military are operated by remote control using pilots based at a command centre.

Although they fly relatively slowly, with a maximum speed of 287 miles per hour, less than half the speed of sound, their ability to perform “hunter-killer” missions or support ground troops in Afghanistan without risking human pilots has seen them increasingly used.

Unmanned aircraft are now being seen as a way of producing planes that can fly further, faster and higher than is currently possible with human pilots, who can grow tired or blackout in manoeuvres that produce high g-forces.

There are concerns, however, that as drones are made more autonomous, they will pose more of a risk if they go out of control and leaving computers to make life or death decisions is highly controversial.

Taranis, however, will still rely on instructions from a central command centre before attacking targets.

The tests on Taranis, which is powered by a Rolls-Royce Adour 951 engine used on Hawk training jets, will see it flying a simulated mission where it must automatically avoid unexpected threats such as ground to air missiles and seek out potential targets.

Once identified, the operators will send instructions to Taranis to attack the targets before performing a flying past to confirm the damage and then landing safely.

Mr Whitehead added: “There is one demonstrator aircraft. The mission plan will be loaded onto the vehicle. The aircraft will then fly the mission. Taranis will fly to the search area and sweep the area to identify targets.

“The air vehicle will be presented with unexpected “pop up” threats and its evasive response will be monitored.

“Target information will be relayed to mission command and the aircraft will hold off until given the next instruction to prosecute, send more data or ignore the identified target.

“In the event of a command to attack, this will be carried out followed by a battle damage inspection and then further interaction with command to confirm the instruction to attack again, prosecute other targets or to come home, avoiding further pop-up threats.”

A spokesman for the MoD added: “Taranis is the first of its kind in the UK. Unmanned Air Vehicles play an important role on operations, helping to reduce the risks faced by military personnel on the front line.

“Forthcoming Taranis flight trials will provide MoD and industry with further information about the potential capabilities of Unmanned Combat Air Systems.”
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PJV3

PJV3

Member
I'm not sure how I feel about this.
On one hand I'm impressed we managed to build something, on the other it's rather unpleasant.

At least the Aircraft Carrier's were funny.
 
C

commedieu

Banned
baes_020175_original.jpg


Wait, is it normal for brits to construct all this stuff on a deathstar flight deck?


PJV3 said:
I'm not sure how I feel about this.
On one hand I'm impressed we managed to build something, on the other it's rather unpleasant.
Click to expand...

The entire world let this shit happen man. I remember when drones were "durrr just for recon! No weapon systems will be added!!"
 
C

commedieu

Banned
The aircraft, which has cost £125 million to build, is intended to be the first of a new generation of aeroplanes that will reduce the need to risk human lives on long, dangerous missions
Click to expand...

So weird considering how many lives drones end.
 
A

akira28

Member
SolarPowered said:
This thing looks like an angel. Doesn't help that it looks like it's being built in an evil lair.
Click to expand...

Final model comes with an "All seeing eye of Ra" in the middle of the pyramid.


Anyway, the age of the drone has begun. War has changed.

But really they've been flying radio drones since ww2. The difference is this is an industry now, so 15 years from now, they'll be selling these to the 3rd world.
 
R

rodvik

Member
Bad ass. Glad to see our military is keeping up to date. Seems a bit silly to announce it though. I mean shouldt we keep our secret weapons errr secret?
 
shira

shira

Member
commedieu said:
baes_020175_original.jpg


Wait, is it normal for brits to construct all this stuff on a deathstar flight deck?




The entire world let this shit happen man. I remember when drones were "durrr just for recon! No weapon systems will be added!!"
Click to expand...

hunter_killer.jpg

Almost skynet ready
 
V

Vilix

Unconfirmed Member
Have they made an electrical system that won't catch fire?
 
D

DOBERMAN INC

Member
It's cool that we can still produce good tech and everything but what happens when any old country can build them? not going to be so fun when we see them heading our way.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
DOBERMAN INC said:
It's cool that we can still produce good tech and everything but what happens when any old country can build them? not going to be so fun when we see them heading our way.
Click to expand...

A mess of countries can do first generation reconnaissance drones. Few can make reliable hunter killer drones. And few can make intercontinental drones (a lot of infrastructure, including a reliable global communications network).

And even fewer can make anti aircraft drones.
 
jchap

jchap

Member
commedieu said:
So you can't see at all how it looks like a science fiction lair... even jokingly..

really.?
Click to expand...

To me anechoic chambers look the opposite of evil. All blue, quiet, and cool. The most peaceful places to be! I'm sure heaven is lined with acoustic foam.
 
DiscoJer

DiscoJer

Member
LuCkymoON said:
A drone is no different than any other weapon system.
Click to expand...

I think it's more the way they are being used. Everyone should really read this article. It's really one of the most chilling things I've read.

http://www.spiegel.de/international...er-war-for-american-drone-pilot-a-872726.html

Bryant was one of them, and he remembers one incident very clearly when a Predator drone was circling in a figure-eight pattern in the sky above Afghanistan, more than 10,000 kilometers (6,250 miles) away. There was a flat-roofed house made of mud, with a shed used to hold goats in the crosshairs, as Bryant recalls. When he received the order to fire, he pressed a button with his left hand and marked the roof with a laser. The pilot sitting next to him pressed the trigger on a joystick, causing the drone to launch a Hellfire missile. There were 16 seconds left until impact.

"These moments are like in slow motion," he says today. Images taken with an infrared camera attached to the drone appeared on his monitor, transmitted by satellite, with a two-to-five-second time delay.

With seven seconds left to go, there was no one to be seen on the ground. Bryant could still have diverted the missile at that point. Then it was down to three seconds. Bryant felt as if he had to count each individual pixel on the monitor. Suddenly a child walked around the corner, he says.

Second zero was the moment in which Bryant's digital world collided with the real one in a village between Baghlan and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Bryant saw a flash on the screen: the explosion. Parts of the building collapsed. The child had disappeared. Bryant had a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Did we just kill a kid?" he asked the man sitting next to him.
Click to expand...

To me, that's a lot different than having a spotter on the ground and calling in an airstrike. You have an observer on the ground who can see who is in the house, not relying on a tiny image from a camera up in the air.

Yes, it's riskier to the spotter. But it seems like we've simply put off the risk to our soldiers onto civilians, which is just plain wrong.
 
PJV3

PJV3

Member
DOBERMAN INC said:
It's cool that we can still produce good tech and everything but what happens when any old country can build them? not going to be so fun when we see them heading our way.
Click to expand...

We live on a stealth island, shrouded in cloud all year round. Fuck you world.
 
L

LuCkymoON

Banned
DiscoJer said:
I think it's more the way they are being used. Everyone should really read this article. It's really one of the most chilling things I've read.

http://www.spiegel.de/international...er-war-for-american-drone-pilot-a-872726.html



To me, that's a lot different than having a spotter on the ground and calling in an airstrike. You have an observer on the ground who can see who is in the house, not relying on a tiny image from a camera up in the air.

Yes, it's riskier to the spotter. But it seems like we've simply put off the risk to our soldiers onto civilians, which is just plain wrong.
Click to expand...

So nothing has changed in war.
Angry Fork said:
This is like saying a cloaking device is the same as putting on a mask and a toupee.
Click to expand...

It's a all a means to the same end, deception.
 
L

Loofy

Member
ConfusingJazz said:
A mess of countries can do first generation reconnaissance drones. Few can make reliable hunter killer drones. And few can make intercontinental drones (a lot of infrastructure, including a reliable global communications network).

And even fewer can make anti aircraft drones.
Click to expand...
Imagine a drone designed to destroy satellites... though I guess missiles would be better for that. Or a missile that is a drone.
 
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