The UK is in second place with the great fire-wall, so is obviously striving to beat China at dystopian city life.
Out in the countryside they will be easy targets with a shotgun, which is I suspect the reception they will get.
wow. dramatize much? I just read the original MoD document, nowhere does it say any domestic enforcement agency is the customer. The military is taking proposals for light drones developed in-country to match the capabilities of adversary forces which they’ve already encountered:
Commercially-available small UAS have already been used overseas, by forces hostile to UK interests, to deploy cheap, low-observable, armed capability across the battlefield. The UK therefore wishes to advance military capability through tactical weaponised UAS, specifically to reduce threat to life for UK forces operating in urban areas
So rather than the quartermaster buying some DJI Mavericks and welding SA80s to the camera mounts, they’re trying to develop a platform the right way. I know it’s fun to immediately go to imagery from Terminator, but let’s at least try and stay grounded to reality.
If the choice is either send a team of six to risk their lives marching off to reconnoiter an unknown location, or risk $1000 worth of drone parts, I know which I’d choose. I’m glad this program appears to be attempting to offer that choice.