Drones

Laser weapons will be used to blast drones out of the sky, according to a newly announced project by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The new project was announced on Thursday and describes what DAPA is calling the "Star Wars Project," which includes the deployment of laser weapons to combat North Korea's drones. DAPA describes these laser anti-aircraft weapons as a "new concept future weapon system" that is capable of emitting drones by hitting them with a light source generated from an optical fiber. DAPA states the laser weapon system can precisely strike unmanned aerial vehicles at "close range".

It should be noted that these lasers aren't like what is seen in the Star Wars movies, as they are completely invisible and silent, and there is no ammunition. Furthermore, DAPA is only in the prototype stage but has signed a contract with Hanwha Aerospace Co., to mass produce the new weapons system. Delivery is expected to be fulfilled later this, and according to reports, each blast from one of these laser systems will cost $1.45. At the moment, it remains unclear how many blasts are needed to neutralize a drone.

Amazon began delivering orders to customers in select areas in 2022, and now the company is celebrating its fastest drone delivery time during the fourth quarter of 2023.

The company outlined the delivery achievement on its website, where it also mentioned that it delivered more than 7 billion units to Prime members, either arriving on the same day or the next day. The 7 billion units were in total and not delivered by drones, but that area of delivery is expanding at Amazon, and we can expect more and more drones to be taking to the skies for fast delivery of relatively light products.

Currently, Amazon's drone delivery service is limited to College Station and Lockeford, California. Prime members in this area can request a drone delivery between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on specific days of the week. Despite the consistent challenge of weather, Amazon will be expanding its drone delivery service to new locations in the US, Italy, and the UK.

The US Air Force is pushing for a $6 billion investment in the construction of a fleet of more than 2,000 Valkyrie drones following a first-of-its-kind flight test.

It was only earlier this month that Colonel Tucker Hamilton, the chief of the Department of Air Force's AI Test and Operations accelerator, announced the US Air Force successfully completed a three-hour flight test of its XQ-58A Valkyrie, a 28-foot-long experimental, stealth-focussed unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

Following the test, the US Air Force is asking for $6 billion to build a fleet of up to 2,000 Valkyrie aircrafts, with each aircraft costing an estimated $3 million, which is much cheaper than a human-operated F-35 or F-22 fighter jets.

A team of researchers has designed a drone that they claim can stay airborne "forever", according to a recent report from The South China Morning Post.

The team of researchers is from Northwestern Polytechnical University located in China, and according to reports, the team has designed a drone that uses high-energy laser systems to continuously charges its battery. Engineers outfitted the drone with a photoelectric conversion module which converts light energy into electricity that is then fed into the drone's battery pack.

Typically, laser systems are used to zap drones out of the air, but this system would essentially be the opposite as laser systems would be able to lock onto the drone and keep it charged from a great distance. In order to put the drone and the laser system to the test, the team of researchers developed an algorithm specifically designed to track the drone, and after performing tests, the team reported the laser system was able to effectively track the drone across various environments, lighting conditions and weather conditions.

Clark County Sheriff-elect Kevin McMahill sees a future where drones are able to reach a location to record crimes anywhere in the Las Vegas Valley. McMahill becomes county sheriff in January, with the police strategy expected to be implemented as soon as possible.

The sheriff's department has located almost a dozen "chronic hot spots" responsible for around 75% of crime in the area - and the drones can be activated to fly directly to any ShotSpotter alert within a minute. This would provide photographs and videos of criminal activity, while also giving local law enforcement insight into the incident.

This type of surveillance may reduce officer-involved shootings, identify and locate suspects, and keep officers safe while on patrol. Of course, there will be some backlash over such a program, with people questioning how much additional surveillance is saved - or shared - for future investigations.

Tech giant IBM expects its autonomous ship artificial intelligence technology used by commercial and research ships one day. The software is able to optimize decision-making by simulating different alternative choices and identifying possible issues while a ship is on the ocean.

Earlier in 2022, the unmanned Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) traveled 3,500 unmanned miles from Plymouth, United Kingdom to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Atlantic Ocean crossing took 40 days and featured no human ship captain or onboard crew as it made the journey.

Since naval companies tend to be slower to newer trends, fully autonomous ships probably won't happen for quite some time - but an AI-powered first officer might prove useful. The majority of marine accidents tend to involve human error, so autonomous software might be able to help a human captain make critical decisions.

Lockheed Martin and Verizon Wireless are working to help the Department of Defense fly 5G-enabled drones to capture intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data. It's a curious endeavor because it shows large amounts of data can be sent over 5G short range distances and is valuable to military operations.

Verizon and Lockheed held an early demonstration last spring in Colorado, then had two follow-up private tests earlier this month. Additional tests are expected to take place in 2023, while the companies continue to develop 5G.MIL capabilities.

The companies want to provide timely, accurate and secure data that can be used to react to emerging threats while using rapid decision making. The advanced commercial technologies and military capabilities were initially demonstrated through Verizon's private network.

It's no secret the US military is interested in adding newer autonomous aircraft to the current fleet, as analysts argue how much longer manned fighter jets will be required. Even though humans will still hop into aircraft cockpits for the foreseeable future, there have been continuous breakthroughs in autonomous aviation.

During the recent Air and Space Forces Association's Air, Space & Cyber conference, there was clear emphasis on unmanned systems and drone technology which don't require human pilots. There is plenty of opportunity for autonomous aircraft and manned aircraft to work together, so the US military has a full assortment of attack and reconnaissance capabilities.

Autonomous aircraft remain a major military objective, especially as the US government thinks about potential contested engagements against China or Russia, priority peer adversaries. Securing funding and building next-generation aircraft - along with training human pilots to fly these machines - is not a fast or easy task.

The Spanish National Police released footage from the seizure on July 4th, 2022.

A 14-month investigation has resulted in the arrest of eight people across Spain; in Cadiz, Malaga, and Barcelona. Spanish police confiscated three large underwater drones used for smuggling drugs from Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar, a narrow strip of the sea only 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide, separating Morocco from Spain. It is the first discovery by the Spanish police of remotely-operable submersible vehicles.

Only one of the submersible drones was fully built, with the other two still being constructed by the gang operating them, which are believed to have been intended for delivery to a French gang. Each submersible can allegedly transport up to 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of cargo. The police also seized six "large aerial drones," rounding out 13 different vehicle types found in the gang's possession.

The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov Oblast of Russia was struck by a drone, potentially of Ukrainian origin, on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the supposed attack. However, it has been using drones throughout its ongoing conflict with Russia, notably, 'suicide' drone models like the Switchblade have been sent to the country by the United States. The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, confirmed the incident and noted that the remains of two drones had been found in the territory of the Novoshakhtinsk refinery.

Oil refinery workers captured the drone's approach and impact on video, with one asking "do you think it's Ukrainian?" and another responding with "of course not." The Rostov Oblast borders with Ukraine, but Russia has not admitted to any incidents of conflict crossing into its territories. According to The Guardian, no one was injured in the explosion at the refinery.

An upcoming drone developed by Draganfly, known as the Commander, will be used to monitor public health.

The Draganfly Commander is a quadcopter drone with software that allows it to assess whether individuals are maintaining social distance and detect whether they are wearing masks. It can recognize when an individual is sneezing or coughing, and temperature sensing abilities allow it to determine when someone has a fever. It can even determine people's heart and breathing rates.

The Commander is powered by two redundant smart batteries and can take advantage of replaceable payloads to complete various missions requiring high-resolution photography. It can be used for surveying, industrial inspection, 3D mapping, search and rescue, and more.

Plans for the taser-equipped drone were being developed by Axon, formerly known as TASER International.

Axon announced on Monday, June 6th it was halting its plans for a taser-equipped drone after nine members of its artificial intelligence ethics board resigned, remarking they had "lost faith in Axon's ability to be a responsible partner." Axon announced last week they were working on drones that would be equipped with the company's Tasers and fly in schools to "help prevent the next Uvalde, Sandy Hook, or Columbine."

Eight board members voted against Axon moving ahead with the creation of a Taser drone, with four in favor, with the majority citing concerns over weaponized drones being used in already over-policed areas. Following the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Axon publicly announced the drone's development.

The drone deliveries mark the first of its kind to deliver food and beverage at a sporting event.

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, hosted a baseball series at Alexander Field recently where attendees could order food and drink items that were then delivered to a locker at the venue. The pilot program was designed to "pressure-test the delivery experience for higher fan volume at future events," and you can see footage of the drone in action here.

The program was run by a collaboration between Purdue's concessionaire, Levy, Levy's DBK Studio, Valqari, which utilized its patented six-locker Drone Delivery Station, and the Unmanned Systems Operation Group (USOG). Valqari worked with USOG to map out the flight path, which carried orders prepared and fulfilled at the Folk Field to Alexander Field, roughly half a mile away.

A study on the drone swarm titled "Swarm of micro flying robots in the wild" has been published in the journal Science Robotics.

Researchers from Zhejiang University have created a purpose-built swarm of ten palm-sized drones, each equipped with depth cameras, altitude sensors, and onboard computers, that can navigate through unstructured environments with obstacles such as a forest.

The drones don't rely on any external infrastructure like GPS and are instead powered by flight algorithms that incorporate collision avoidance and coordination throughout the swarm. Researchers tested the drones in multiple scenarios; a dense bamboo forest, a high-traffic experiment where they had to avoid other drones, and following a human target.

Undefined Technologies has unveiled the new design of its concept eVTOL drone named the Silent Ventus.

The drone is powered by proprietary ion propulsion technology, creating "high levels of ion thrust in atmospheric air" from the ion cloud surrounding the craft. Undefined Technologies is currently working toward achieving longer flight times and keeping noise levels below 70 decibels. By comparison, most drones produce between about 85 and 96 decibels.

In the U.S., acceptable noise levels range for residential, industrial, and commercial zones from 50 to 70 decibels, making the technology much more suitable for general use. The next mission flight is scheduled for sometime in May, and it previously completed a 2-minute and 30-second mission flight in December 2021.

The United States has already included similar drones in its previous arms packages for Ukraine.

Part of The White House's $800 million weapons package announced by U.S. President Joe Biden on April 21st contains the new suicide drone known as the Phoenix Ghost. Over 120 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems are included in the package, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby during a press conference.

The U.S. Air Force has reportedly been working on the drone since before Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. The Phoenix Ghost is similar to the Switchblade drone, a one-way attack drone that the U.S. has already shipped 400 of to Ukraine. The Phoenix Ghost was created by Aevex Aerospace and the U.S. Air Force, but both parties have refused to comment on the details of the drone.

The official Twitter account for the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine ArmyInform has released a new video of drones Russia is allegedly using in Ukraine.

The video in question shows a Ukrainian soldier dismantling an Orlan-10 drone utilized by Russian forces. The drone appears to have been cobbled together from various civilian technologies, such as a handheld Canon DSLR serving as the drone's camera. The video also shows access to the drone's fuel tank in the form of the top of a water bottle and its lid.

Visible across the surface of the drone are also large swathes of duct tape. Despite drones constituting a significant portion of military operations, in this case surveillance, but also in delivering deadly payloads, it seems some of the drones in use are not as sophisticated as one might think.

The latest batch of weapons the United States is sending to Ukraine will include 5-pound drones called Switchblades.

The US will be sending a large weapons package to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russia, which has been invading the country for nearly a month now. The latest package from the states is worth $800 million and includes several different types of weapons that are all designed to hinder Russia's advancement towards Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

Notable contents of the package are FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapons, FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, AT-4 anti-tank unguided missiles, grenade launchers, body armor, and more than 10 million bullets. Additionally, the package contains 100 Switchblade drones which are also called "kamikaze drones," as they are designed for one-way trips towards their target. There are two types of Switchblade drones, Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600.

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has issued an open letter to DJI requesting its assistance.

Using geofencing technology implemented into its products several years ago, DJI can control where its drones can fly throughout the world. In 2017, DJI implemented a no-fly zone for its drones over most of Iraq and Syria, preventing them from being re-purposed by combatants to deliver lethal payloads during battle. DJI also uses geofencing to restrict flight over sensitive areas such as airports, military bases, and prisons.

Vice-PM Fedorov believes DJI drones are being used by Russian troops to navigate missiles toward civilian targets and has implored DJI founder Frank Wank to help stop them. Fedorov also believes Russia is utilizing AeroScope, another DJI product, to identify and target Ukrainian DJI drone pilots.

The Punisher drone is made by UA Dynamics, which is also accepting cryptocurrency donations to "protect Ukraine from Russian occupiers."

UA Dynamics was launched by combat veterans who fought Russian forces during the annexation of Crimea. They have since designed and developed the "Punisher" drone, with the "cheapest mission cost in the world," according to the UA Dynamics website. It has a strike range of 45 kilometers (28 miles), cruising speed of 20 meters per second (39 knots), combat payload of 2+ kilograms (4.4+ pounds), a precision of 4 meters (13 feet), and time to start of 7 minutes.

According to Business Insider, over 60 successful missions have been carried out with Punisher drones during the current conflict in Ukraine against Russian forces. The drone has been used to fly behind enemy lines to disrupt supply lines, targeting fuel and ammunition stocks as well as electronic warfare systems without jeopardizing its own troops' safety.