• CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    3 months ago

    Are these purpose built drones? They kinda look like someone’s taken like a piper cub or similar type of plane and converted it to remote control.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      3 months ago

      Isn’t that exactly what they did? Not sure the airplane class, but the first article written made it sound like they stuffed an airplane full of explosives and remote piloted it to destination…

  • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    3 months ago

    I wonder what all the military strategists around the world think of this particular development. There are so many private small aeroplanes flying every day, oftentimes without even talking to air traffic control. I wonder if this might result in some new rules for private pilots.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      3 months ago

      I doubt it. You could do similar damage with more drones. And if your going to commit terrorism, I don’t think you care about laws… and what aircraft will intercept that anyway?

      I hate war… but I have technological wet dreams about seeing how current western technology would work in this war. There is so much code stuff still almost untested.

    • Rose Thorne@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      I can’t say with certainty just off the top of my head, but I feel like the U.S thought about that for a minute.

      I feel like WW2? I could also be confusing bits from an old History Channel documentary.

      • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        3 months ago

        They’re called parasite fighters, and just about everyone has had a go at them at some point.

        The Goblin was the last serious attempt.

      • nBodyProblem@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        3 months ago

        The US built the XF-85 goblin parasite fighter, which was supposed to be deployed using a robotic arm from the bomb bay of a B-36. The idea came from ww2 when we had escort fighters for most major bombing missions to keep the bombers safe.

        It wasn’t practical to build a fighter with enough range to escort strategic bombers into the Soviet Union so they thought, “why not carry the fighter inside the bomber?”

        • Mirshe@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          3 months ago

          We also tried to do parasite fighters off a dirigible, but it turned out they were finicky and the carrier was too big and obvious a target.