JPAR
I can see how extremely helpful these will be, but £125,000 per copter?? Are you sure? About $100 each I would have thought, and maybe another $100 for the controller.
What code / protection system is built in to prevent enemy troops snatching your copter and then using it to Monitor your position?
tampa florida
JPAR "I can see how extremely helpful these will be, but £125,000 per copter?? Are you sure? About $100 each I would have thought, and maybe another $100 for the controller."
and I thought only the US military screwed it's tax payers
BigGoofyGuy
Considering all that the little copter is cabable of doing, the price does not seem to bad. I doubt one can do what it does with one of those little copters that one sees being sold on television.
If it saves lives, I think the cost is well worth it.
Joel Detrow
The price may seem a bit steep, but keep in mind that not only have they packed quite a bit of electronics into that small package, but also an electric motor and a battery pack capable of running it all for a whole 30 minutes. A $100 RC helicopter with no fancy bells or whistles (like recording & transmitting video) will get maybe 10 minutes.
Todd Dunning
JPAR - "What code / protection system is built in to prevent enemy troops snatching your copter and then using it to Monitor your position?"
Fortunately that's a secret.
krakkah
How do they recharge in the field?
How do they "party in the chowper" ?
How noisy is it?
Does it self destruct if it crashes?
GiolliJoker
UK enemies will start packing 12 ga bird shot shells...
Philip Porter
Can't see any doors, how does the pilot get in and out?
bergamot69
@JPAR,
The signal would no doubt be encrypted, and no doubt, if the drone was seized by the enemy, the operator would be instantly aware of that. And in order for the enemy to use it to their own ends, they would need a controller with display- not the sort of thing they are likely to have any time soon.
Does seem extremely expensive though- although worth it to save lives.
Phyvel Lavine
What do you get for $100? 1) A copter which can only be controlled to maybe 100 meters away, or as far as an ad-hoc wifi signal can transmit. 2) Low quality video, if any video at all. 3) 10 minutes battery.
This next part is based of the development contract price and reports. It is not the actual price of each individual kit. But since, from the comments, it looks like nobody understands what a development contract is *not*, I'll go from what you think it *is*.
What do you get for £125,000? 1) A copter which uses a secure (DDL) network, capable of transmitting over 800 meters 2) GPS navigation 3) High quality, stabilized, pan-tilt, and mechanically zoomed video 4) 30 minutes battery 5) Carbon-fiber propellers 6) Super-quiet operation 7) Waterproof 8) Hover and stare, preprogrammed search routes 9) Base Station • Mission Planning, Execution and Analyses • Display connections, Functions and System Controls • Storage of Mission Data including Video and Images • Connections to PC, Network and other Peripherals • UAVs housed inside for Protection and Support