Boeing, BAE Systems Show Off New Unmanned Planes 157
gilgsn writes The hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days, was unveiled by Boeing today. 'Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.' Across the pond, BAE Systems showed off Taranis, a UAV that will test the possibility of developing the first ever autonomous, stealth Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle that would ultimately be capable of precisely striking targets at long range — even in another continent."
UAV ? ICBM (Score:5, Interesting)
UAV capable of reaching inter-continental target - check
UAV payload nuclear - check
UAV 'hard to hit' and/or find - check
Ladies and Gentleman; let me present to you your new ICBM replacement (and don't worry about treaties with the Russians, these qualify as airplanes not missles, so we are clear to rebuild our stockpiles!)
Cue Terminator Theme... (Score:4, Interesting)
Hydrogen for Long Endurance Flight? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Fantastic... (Score:3, Interesting)
We already have exceptionally convenient ways to kill EVERYONE. Every weapon developed after thr 1960s is actually designed to make it easier to SELECTIVELY kill people. In other words, less collateral damage.
And making it HARD to kill people isn't a good thing. Go back through antiquity, and you'll find that, though it was difficult, more people were being killed then, than now. Better weapons reduce the body count, as the war is won more quickly, rather than being a bloody, multi-year war of attrition.
What? Better weapons beget better battle-field medicine. A great many scientific advancements have been made in war-time, which save a huge number of lives, both during and long-after the particular wars.
Re:UAV ? ICBM (Score:3, Interesting)
Also, the big threat of nuclear weapons is speed and stealth.
UAVs have that. Sure, a MiG can shoot down a UAV with ease. However, in order to shoot down the UAV, it first has to find the UAV. Given that UAVs don't need pilots, control surfaces and intakes (the two most radar reflective portions of any aircraft) can be positioned in a way to minimize radar cross section in a way that even ultra-stealth aircraft like the B-2 cannot do. Combined with the ability of a UAV to fly a computer controlled course at very low altitude (just like cruise missiles), the ultra-low RCS means that these modern UAVs are the cruise missile equivalent of MIRVs. You can load a UAV with multiple cruise missiles and have it launch those missiles after it gets inside enemy airspace.
B-52 (Score:3, Interesting)
So has Taranis flown yet? (Score:4, Interesting)
There was an interesting conspiracy theory [theregister.co.uk] put about a while back that Taranis was only incidentally a scary UAV project - that its real purpose was technology laundering. BAE have had access to American stealth technology through the JSF project; Taranis is a stealth aircraft supposedly developed independently. So if ten years from now BAE start selling stealth drones to every sheikh with a few billion quid in his trousers, they'll say 'oh, this technology is derived from the Taranis project. Nothing to do with the American secrets we were shown while working on the F-35, no, not at all...'