My first thought that popped into my mind when I read this article was Skynet and their Hunter Killer drones from the Terminator movies. lol And really, there isn’t much of a difference between Hunter Killers and the next generation of combat drones. I am also sure that if jet turbines were a better option than ducted fans, we will see that pop up in the near future as well.
The interesting thing with drone aviation development, is that all and any ideas can be explored for the creation of these things, because there is no human element to worry about with the design. So insanely fast drones that move around like hummingbirds, that can launch precision weapons is something that can be worked on without a care in the world towards the human in the cockpit. That is what makes the future of drones so interesting to me, and Moore’s Law has some application to this whole process as well. –Matt
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This is a model of the AD-150.
The Hunter Killer drone from the movie Terminator.
‘Transformer’ Touted as Next-Gen Combat Drone
May 26, 2010
Sharon Weinberger
It takes off like a helicopter, flies like a plane and doesn’t need a pilot. That’s what one U.S. aerospace company is proposing as the latest in combat drones.
Maryland-based American Dynamics Flight Systems is working on a concept for an aircraft that can take off vertically but then switch to flying forward. Called the AD-150, the aircraft works by using ducted fans mounted on the wingtips to generate lift. Those fans can then tilt when the aircraft transitions to forward flight.
“As a tilt-duct aircraft, it doesn’t have the limitations a helicopter has,” Wayne Morse, president and CEO of the company, tells AOL News. Once it transitions, it can travel at speeds of up to 300 knots, surpassing even the fastest traditional helicopters.