I am sure it is not that long ago since there was a thread on here about these quadrocopters flying in swarms.
this First Person View (FPV) is interesting. how miniaturisation of electronics and mass production of modular devices has made these things possible and affordable.
The next logical step is autonomy (this is done with some military systems) good article in this months RAeS mag on the subject of autonomy and RPVs.
With autonomy the distance between the remote pilot or dependence on LST or Sat Comm becomes immaterial. I guess the limitation becomes energy.
How long will it be before autonomous systems become available to the RC fanatic or small commercial operator?
In the early naughties when we were introducing autonomous systems, spook HQ were certainly interested from a CT point of view. Probably not to develop countermeasures but certainly to be aware of a probable threat. ITAR just delays these things becoming available - or does it?
I remember having discussions with ADRP at the time over how we were going to certify such things. this was before the rule book had been written.