May 29, 2007
Robot gunships join US Army
Fire Scout MQ-8B UAV makes its first flight in St Inigoes, Maryland.
The Fire Scout is a heavily modified small commercial 3/4-seat chopper, the Schweizer 333. The cockpit for outmoded flesh pilots has been removed and replaced by robo control and sensor systems, and an extra rotor blade added in order to achieve more lift. As it now stands, the Fire Scout can stay up for eight hours with just sensors and a targeting laser, or five hours with a load of weaponry in addition.
...including 70mm Hydra rocket pods or Hellfire laser-guided missiles. It truly is a flying robot, not a remote-controlled aircraft; Fire Scouts have made autonomous trial landings aboard US warships underway at sea, without any pilot guidance.
...reports suggest that the US Navy may deploy up to 200 of the drone whirlybirds beginning as early as 2008.
press release | The Register
~I wonder if Americans can adopt robots? Adoption laws vary from state to state? I can picture myself adopting a robot gunship (or a fembot) but not a Cambodian or an African refugee. Go figure.
Posted by Stubbornson at May 29, 2007 04:20 PM