4 ms·

"Lockheed Martin wants billions of dollars" Well, no shit.

by bbq 15y ago

walrus 15y ago
Did they change the article? I didn't see that in the text or videos.
- bbq 15y ago
  I was just rephrasing the headline.
  - iamdave 15y ago
    Poorly.
hunterp 15y ago
Lockheed Martin is also a non-capitalist enterprise. They are completely funded by the U.S Government, and they have the most ethics violations of any corporation on planet earth. Cluster bombs, green washing, nuclear missles, lobbying violations.
jws 15y ago
Billions seems unlikely. 450k enlisted men, 100k total force in Afghanistan. Let's guess the Army will want 250,000 of them. You'd need to sell them for $4k each to get that first billion dollars. Sure, you can sell the first few for more than that during testing, you have to recover the cost of the documentation and supporting materials the army will require plus pay all the people you hire to interface with their counterparts, but ultimately I think you'll end up in the $1k neighborhood and still be making a huge per unit profit. ($200 would be a nice price for the consumer version. Maybe more depending on how nice a camera you put on it.) (I assume the soldier will already be carrying a suitable display.)
- qq66 15y ago
  Meanwhile, the incredibly nimble Syma S107G helicopter sells for $20 shipped on Amazon (affiliate). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A8ZRB0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tlie=UTF8&tag=timetravele0720&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B004A8ZRB0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A8ZRB0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_...
- bbq 15y ago
  Hmm fair enough.
- bane 15y ago
  Don't forget police forces. $4k is not out of reach for a medium sized metropolitan police force...and there are many many many of those.
- WiseWeasel 15y ago
  Now that the video is out, I'm sure some production lines are coming online in China as we speak for a $20 knock-off, maybe $50 for one with a camera.
- Someone 15y ago
  If you add the infrastructure needed to live combine the video feeds of say 1000 units into a coherent view, available to each of those units and their commanders, but not to the enemy, things can get expensive. Having said that the combination of 'finger-sized' and outdoor operations will be quite a challenge. Even moderate wind will be a problem.

"Lockheed Martin wants billions of dollars" Well, no shit.

by bbq 15y ago

"Lockheed Martin wants billions of dollars" Well, no shit.

walrus 15y ago

Did they change the article? I didn't see that in the text or videos.

bbq 15y ago
I was just rephrasing the headline.
- iamdave 15y ago
  Poorly.

hunterp 15y ago

Lockheed Martin is also a non-capitalist enterprise. They are completely funded by the U.S Government, and they have the most ethics violations of any corporation on planet earth. Cluster bombs, green washing, nuclear missles, lobbying violations.

jws 15y ago

Billions seems unlikely. 450k enlisted men, 100k total force in Afghanistan. Let's guess the Army will want 250,000 of them. You'd need to sell them for $4k each to get that first billion dollars. Sure, you can sell the first few for more than that during testing, you have to recover the cost of the documentation and supporting materials the army will require plus pay all the people you hire to interface with their counterparts, but ultimately I think you'll end up in the $1k neighborhood and still be making a huge per unit profit. ($200 would be a nice price for the consumer version. Maybe more depending on how nice a camera you put on it.) (I assume the soldier will already be carrying a suitable display.)

qq66 15y ago
Meanwhile, the incredibly nimble Syma S107G helicopter sells for $20 shipped on Amazon (affiliate). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A8ZRB0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tlie=UTF8&tag=timetravele0720&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B004A8ZRB0 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A8ZRB0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_...
bbq 15y ago
Hmm fair enough.
bane 15y ago
Don't forget police forces. $4k is not out of reach for a medium sized metropolitan police force...and there are many many many of those.
WiseWeasel 15y ago
Now that the video is out, I'm sure some production lines are coming online in China as we speak for a $20 knock-off, maybe $50 for one with a camera.
Someone 15y ago
If you add the infrastructure needed to live combine the video feeds of say 1000 units into a coherent view, available to each of those units and their commanders, but not to the enemy, things can get expensive. Having said that the combination of 'finger-sized' and outdoor operations will be quite a challenge. Even moderate wind will be a problem.