Drone Mind

Here is a collection of drone articles that I found interesting recently.

1. China’s Huge ‘GJ-X’ Stealth Drone Appears To Have Been Spotted In The Air For The First Time

This is a summarized article. The original is linked here.

A giant Chinese stealth drone dubbed the “GJ-X” has been the subject of many rumors over the past month. It was first seen at a tarmac in Malan, China through satellite imagery in September, but was just recently spotted in the air. It is estimated to have a wingspan of a whopping 42 meters (137 feet). The aircraft spotted recently seems to be the same or very similar to the one found in Malan, but it could be another, very similar, drone. The drone spotted appeared to have a kite shape, similar to many stealth aircrafts. Why am I interested in it? Because it’s so big! it’s a giant unmanned object flying through the sky. The underside of the drone seemed to have a counter-shaded paint job which usually is used to be less visible from the ground. The role of the giant stealth drone is still not clear but it is probably being used for reconnaissance–getting information from the ground without being detected. The US does not have anything like this and is very much behind on drone technology. The GJ-X shows that China is innovating in different directions. Just the fact that new drones being made have had to be kept secret is a testament to how much they are becoming more and more important. I am excited yet as always also slightly scared for what the future holds for this emerging technology.

2. New Microwave Cannon Destroying Drone Swarms in Seconds

What follows is a summarization of two of articles linked here and here about a device that does just that.

Imagine an enemy coming at your with a swarm of drones. Not one or two or ten, but dozens or hundreds of drones. How can you possibly fight against something like that? How about firing a giant field of microwave radiation at them and taking out the whole swarm at once! The two US defence companies, Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems, have partnered to create a high pulse microwave robot which, in simple terms, is a tank like vehicle which can render potentially deadly drone swarms useless. It is a combination of Epirus’ Leonidas and GDLS’s Tracked Robot 10-ton (TRX) unmanned ground vehicle. These two machines together make a mobile drone killer. The Leonidas works by shooting high powered microwaves at a swarm of drones which disables them. This is a very good method because it can be used on a swarm of drones to eliminate it as a threat almost instantly. There are videos showing almost 50 drones all dropping out of the sky at once from this machine. In the cat and mouse game of drone vs anti-drone technology, this will definitely mark a large step in counter-drone innovation. One implication is that if we can scale viable counter-drone technologies like this one, then the fear of people doing bad things with drones will be less and it will be safer to give ordinary people access to drones. And I may not have to pay $150 for a 5 day drone license in New York city one day. Also, it’s good to see the Americans doing something innovative.