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I can imagine a semi-disposable drone-like device being used for fast and cheap reconnaissance. If cost of something with a camera and rough lidar can be brough

I can imagine a semi-disposable drone-like device being used for fast and cheap reconnaissance. If cost of something with a camera and rough lidar can be brought to $200, then why not turn it into a 'consumable' item that can be deployed from out of a briefcase? I feel like assuming that the device will be lost/destroyed can help optimize for short-term performance. Why not add a few grams of C4 to it, to make sure that it and its silicon are absolutely unrecoverable and in many pieces after its operational lifetime?

lsaferite 4y ago
I feel like you just described the Switchblade drones. https://www.avinc.com/tms/switchblade https://www.avinc.com/tms/switchblade
- gigaflop 4y ago
  The animated image is cracking me the hell up. It just glides out of the tube like WHOOP! But, that's actually very close to what I was thinking about! I was imagining something with a much shorter range, however. Something like 1km, compared to that thing's 10km.
lbriner 4y ago
I suspect this is exactly what they are going for but at the same time, reliability is critical if you only have a handful of them you can't afford for some to not work, so by the time you use some prime components, they start costing "military" money instead!
CydeWeys 4y ago
You're almost describing the Russian Orlan-10, except you've got the cost off by an order of magnitude (they cost around $2,000 each). $200 is an incredibly ambitious target that's unlikely to be hit, but it's also not necessary to bring costs that low. Our military budget is $800B/yr and our current drones cost way more than $2000. Simply bringing the costs down a bit would get us sufficient quantity.
- bozhark 4y ago
  Nah, custom FPV drones are in that range. It’s doable rn
- gigaflop 4y ago
  Oh, that's much larger than I was thinking of. I was thinking somewhere on low-single-digit-km range, and probably sized to where carbon fiber + aluminum are still the best choices for the frame materials. Roughly, the size of 2 beer bottles?
ThrowawayR2 4y ago
Like this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano
- gigaflop 4y ago
  You're the one replier so far to who I must say, larger, but not by too much. 1 or 2 beer bottles of size is what I was thinking of.
programd 4y ago
I suspect the cheapest option would be cameras mounted on artillery shells. https://www.afcea.org/content/artillery-eyes-provide-sight-ground-forces https://www.afcea.org/content/artillery-eyes-provide-sight-g... The U S army worked on putting cameras in howitzer shells as far back as the 70’s, so short-ish range (10 miles or so), but cheap by military standards. Though these days a cheap plastic drone might easily be less expensive if mass produced.

lsaferite 4y ago

I feel like you just described the Switchblade drones. https://www.avinc.com/tms/switchblade https://www.avinc.com/tms/switchblade

gigaflop 4y ago
The animated image is cracking me the hell up. It just glides out of the tube like WHOOP! But, that's actually very close to what I was thinking about! I was imagining something with a much shorter range, however. Something like 1km, compared to that thing's 10km.

lbriner 4y ago

I suspect this is exactly what they are going for but at the same time, reliability is critical if you only have a handful of them you can't afford for some to not work, so by the time you use some prime components, they start costing "military" money instead!

CydeWeys 4y ago

You're almost describing the Russian Orlan-10, except you've got the cost off by an order of magnitude (they cost around $2,000 each). $200 is an incredibly ambitious target that's unlikely to be hit, but it's also not necessary to bring costs that low. Our military budget is $800B/yr and our current drones cost way more than $2000. Simply bringing the costs down a bit would get us sufficient quantity.

bozhark 4y ago
Nah, custom FPV drones are in that range. It’s doable rn
gigaflop 4y ago
Oh, that's much larger than I was thinking of. I was thinking somewhere on low-single-digit-km range, and probably sized to where carbon fiber + aluminum are still the best choices for the frame materials. Roughly, the size of 2 beer bottles?

ThrowawayR2 4y ago

Like this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano

gigaflop 4y ago
You're the one replier so far to who I must say, larger, but not by too much. 1 or 2 beer bottles of size is what I was thinking of.

programd 4y ago

I suspect the cheapest option would be cameras mounted on artillery shells. https://www.afcea.org/content/artillery-eyes-provide-sight-ground-forces https://www.afcea.org/content/artillery-eyes-provide-sight-g... The U S army worked on putting cameras in howitzer shells as far back as the 70’s, so short-ish range (10 miles or so), but cheap by military standards. Though these days a cheap plastic drone might easily be less expensive if mass produced.