Tuesday, December 12, 2006

I vote for quad-50s


Simply because quad-50s are cool and you can use them for lots of things besides....
While fighting Israeli forces this summer, Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerillas demonstrated their ability to deploy armed drones. These aircraft could strike U.S. forces rather easily, because they might be confused with friendly aircraft, says Maj. Gen. Robert P. Lennox, head of the Army Air Defense Artillery Center. A case in point is Iran’s Ababil-T, which is not technologically advanced by U.S. standards, but could be mistaken as a friendly UAV. “How do you discern if it’s a friendly UAV coming home, or one trying to strike?” Lennox asks. “That’s a challenge.”

In the Army, he says, “We need to start thinking about how to deal with the enemy UAVs.” The Patriot missile-defense system can take down UAVs, but each Patriot round costs $3 million. “You want a system that is commensurate with the target,” says Lennox. Armed UAVs can be built for as little as $3,000.
Nothing says "bang for your buck" like a Quad-50. Beats waiting 10 years and $2 billion for something that may not work. If you make the right phone call, you could probably get a quad-50 ready to go in a couple of months (please tell me they weren't all destroyed) for the high-six figures each. Wild-a55 guess, but a fun thought.

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