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It’s been a long time coming, but Britain should finally claim the crown of Country With The Creepiest/Most Badass UAV this year. Yeah, we’ve had a prototype robotic UAV bomber lying around in the shed for a while now, but it doesn’t actually count until it’s flown.
The test flight is slated for later this year, and the Telegraph’s saying it’s going to happen in Australia. Presumably the test’s located in Oz because the British Isles aren’t actually big enough to handle this much badassery without exploding. Well, either that, or the remote nature of Australia’s outback, combined with a cutting-edge radar network, provide a pretty damn good location to fly a super-secret stealth plane for the first time. But I think the former.
In other drone news, the EuroHawk, some piddly little European effort (ok, so it’s actually Europe’s largest drone if you’re going to be pedantic) has just had its first test flight; though to call the EuroHawk a ‘new’ drone is like calling the PlayStation 3 Slim a ‘whole new games console!!!’; it’s actually just a US Global Hawk with a bunch of German sensors bolted on. Nice try Europe, but you can’t call that ‘your’ drone.
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So, how long after a successful test flight do the RAF pilots receive their P45s?
The plan is the begin replacing humans in 30 years, so in 30 years the RAF will reduce recruiting and begin phasing out humans.
They might have a fun time tracking it given that it’s the size of a Red Arrows’ Hawk, will have a radar cross section of something similar to a small bird, and is operating in a test range just a little bit smaller than England….
I’m just guessing here, but surely half of the point of testing it on the radar range is to help calibrate/test the RCS?
They’ll be testing it out there for the same reason that HERTI and Mantis were tested out there – the CAA won’t let them do it over here, and BAE Systems Australia have a playground the size of the country available for it to run into as many things as it likes that aren’t tax payers or voters!
Really? I’ve seen one of these things at RIAT – it’s a damn-site larger than a Hawk.
Confusingly, there’s a picture of a Taranis at the top of this article, so it’s entirely possible that I’m just confused…
That’s because the drone in question is the Taranis…
I’m confused.
No, ignore me, I missed the ‘in other news bit’.
It’s been a really long day…
…and the EuroHawk is not supersonic, and it’s not stealth, and I’m still confused.
I think you may well be!
Taranis would be the Hawk-sized aircraft that the article is referring to. EuroHawk is just mentioned in passing
Yeah, figured that out eventually.
I’m a bit short on sleep, please excuse my (hopefully temporary) abject stupidity.
Go to bed dude
Being British, I wonder if it shuts down for two tea breaks a day?
only two? are you even British???
I have a tea break every hour on the hour!
Believe me, these, or smaller civilian versions, will eventually be used to fly over our roads and allow jobsworth* remote operators to catch motorists doing 37 in a 30 limit. If you have the sunroof open, the photograph of your vehicle included as evidence along with the citation will include a closeup of your bald spot.
*To overseas readers, a jobsworth is the contemporary equivalent of the subservient nasties favoured by the Soviets and 1930s Germans, who lack the ability to make compassionate ethical decisions, and persecute anyone they don’t like or who can earn the council a quick £60.
The UK police recently purchased a few drones.
There you go.
Dystopia arriveth, and it is going to be worse than hell.
That video has to be fake.
And you say that because…?
If this thing is supposed to be that stealthy, why don’t they skip the test flights, say they were a success, and use the money saved to buy some beers? Who would be able to prove they hadn’t done them?
The public. When it crashes on their (our?) houses.