Thought I’d post some pics of these since the Raven in particular reminded me of my buddy’s Multiplex EasyStar. Much press has been given to the Predator and the Reaper but I find these smaller UAVs just as interesing.
If you get a chance, click on over to Michael Yon’s article, Bird’s Eye View: The Battle for Baqubah. It’s a great read by the way giving a first hand account of, among other things, the use of UAV’s in combat and the benefits they can offer to a Tactical Operations Center (TOC).
I thought this was an interesting philosophical observation at the end of his article:
When I listen to people in these civil administration meetings inventorying the obstacles, giving detailed and passionate speeches about why the things that need to happen cannot, often next comes the tired lament, “You can do these things because America is rich.” This seems like a chicken-egg argument, but it’s not. They will stare at you like a bird. Blinking. Blinking. As if waiting for an answer to a question that seems to forever loop back on itself. “But you are rich! You put a man on the moon!”
When a person holds an egg in hand, the question seems answered. And when a person holds a chicken, the question seems answered.
Small Military UAV
The Raven: A simple hand-launched UAV
The Raven’s design reminded me of the EasyStar below.
The Shadow: A more advanced and higher flying catapult-launched UAV
R/C For The Rest Of Us
The EasyStar: Same basic design as The Raven
You can buy a Ready-To-Fly EasyStar for under $200.
On a related note…
Arttech makes a foam r/c plane modeled after the Predator Drone which comes Ready-To-Fly complete with digital camera for $150.
