Drones of death

[BEagle]

It is reported in the Daily Telegraph that al-Quaeda's third in command has been killed by a US drone strike.

Egyptian-born Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, also known as Saeed al-Masri, was al-Qaeda's main commander in Afghanistan and a key plotter in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Statements from the group did not indicate how al-Yazid died nor identify a successor but that many of his family members, including his wife, died with him.

More at Al-Qaeda's third in command killed in US drone strike - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7792134/Al-Qaedas-third-in-command-killed-in-US-drone-strike.html)

Good shooting, team. As intelligence and availability of assets in the right place at the right time increases, there'll be fewer places for these terrorists to hide.

"Ah, Mr. al-Yazid. Welcome to the after life. Bad news - no 72 virgins, in fact not even one. As that bloke over there with the pointy tail, horns and toasting fork will be explaining to you for the next thousand years or so....!"

[39 Squadron]

...:ok:.........

[brickhistory]

Adios, MF...

[MostlyHarmless]

Drones of Death? Sounds like Nellie's 9L brief ;)

[Double Zero]

Latest report from the Hospital; his condition is entirely satisfactory.

Could have done without the 'Drones of Death' headline though.

[Trojan1981]

Yesterday. So I take it someone else has stepped into his role by now....
...and the beat goes on...:cool:

[barnstormer1968]

Double Zero
What is wrong with 'Drones of death'....

I like a good bee keeping story as much as the next man:}.

Oh I see.......We are mis-using the 'D' word again.

[Gainesy]

Eloquent, Brick...:)

[Double Zero]

What,

' Drones ' ?

DZ

[Thelma Viaduct]

Bang on Trojan, I wonder when the spams will click on.

[t43562]

"Ah, Mr al-Yazid! Good to see you at last. Welcome."
"Er, thank you. Is this Paradise?"
"Yes, yes, of course it is. For some of us.... Now, what about your 72 virgins eh? Looking forward to them eh?" (toothy smile)
"Oh, yes please"
"Excellent, most excellent. OK then, chaps, he's all yours . . . ."

[BEagle]

Mr al-Yazid, meet 'Toby'....

YouTube - Rowan Atkinson in Hell - WITH SUBTITLES (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UbqZ_oN5do&feature=related)

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

UK, unbowdlerised, script is here. Much funnier. Sadly no video that I know of.
http://wordsum.********.com/2006/07/rowan-atkinson-welcome-to-hell.html
or try FarCanal Funny Joke Humerous Slogan T-Shirts (http://farcanal.biz/) ,and type god suicide into their all designs search box for an (entirely in-)appropriate T-shirt.

[skydiver69]

I wonder if Paul Mcartney is thinking of using 'Drones of Death' as the title for an updated version of 'Pipes of Peace'?

[ColdCollation]

skydiver69, it'd perhaps be more appropriate.

:ok:

[dead_pan]

I suppose we would eventually get around to killing someone important. Presumably there were no weddings going on that day.

[Double Zero]

How about releasing McArtney from a great height onto the Taliban ?

Or would that be too cruel to them under the Geneva Convention...

[BEagle]

No doubt it won't please the acronym / abbreviation / initialisation industry, which works tirelessly to invent more and more new expressions for aerial devices without onboard pilots :rolleyes: , but EASA has now decided to adopt the word 'drone':

Regulatory definition

The Agency considered several terms such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) (a UAS subcategory), but finally followed the general usage of the term ‘drone’ with the following definition:

‘Drone shall mean an aircraft without a human pilot on board, whose flight is controlled either autonomously or under the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle.’

Advance Notice of Proposed Amendment 2015-10 'Introduction of a regulatory framework for the operation of drones' is available for download at http://easa.europa.eu/system/files/dfu/A-NPA%202015-10.pdf . Comment responses can be made through the EASA CRT website at EASA CRT application (http://hub.easa.europa.eu/crt/) .

[jolihokistix]

My French teacher was a drone.

[Mechta]

Beagle, at last!

Why anyone saw the need to hang 'system' or 'vehicle' on the end of their acronym, beats me. When I started flying them in 1988 they were UMAs (UnManned Aircraft). One doesn't feel the need to refer to a Eurofighter Typhoon or a Boeing 747 as a system or vehicle, despite the fact that ground equipment and ground based services are all part of what allow them to do their jobs.

The debate will now be whether or not the Fairey Queen was responsible for the origin of the term in this context (followed by the DH Queen Bee and the Airspeed Queen Wasp), or if had it entered the language earlier.

[Haraka]

Drone.
Was taught to U.K. Services in the 70's (when the Army had the " Midge" ) to refer to an autonomous "clockwork mouse" device -hence incorporated into Royal Artillery Drone Troops.
Conversely an RPV /UMA/ UAV/RPA system implied that the mission was monitored and controlled from a ground station.
Thus ,politically and for very good reasons, it can then be claimed to be under human direction and discretion and thus avoid popular association with being seen as a "Robot Killer" or whatever.
This distinction has now been removed.

[Davef68]

Why anyone saw the need to hang 'system' or 'vehicle' on the end of their acronym, beats me. When I started flying them in 1988 they were UMAs (UnManned Aircraft). One doesn't feel the need to refer to a Eurofighter Typhoon or a Boeing 747 as a system or vehicle, despite the fact that ground equipment and ground based services are all part of what allow them to do their jobs.


Have you ever known the military to use a simple description when a bit of 'management speak' can be used?

[5 Forward 6 Back]

Why anyone saw the need to hang 'system' or 'vehicle' on the end of their acronym, beats me.

The idea is that you need more than the airframe to fly it. The "system" refers to the aircraft itself, the GCS, the communications equipment, etc. To fly a Reaper, you need a Reaper itself, a Reaper GCS, and at the very least a set of line-of-sight aerials. That's a Reaper "system." The aircraft's just an aircraft, but unlike a Tornado or Typhoon, you can't fly it on its own without the rest of the system.

[Avtur]

Why anyone saw the need to hang 'system' or 'vehicle' on the end of their acronym, beats me.

Although 5F6B is correct, let's just call the Unmanned System by its name; eg "Reaper". Its a given that these things need a GCS, aircraft, comms etc to operate. A certain military unmanned aircraft testing organisation once spent an inordinate amount of time, effort, and (presumably) expense by continually reinventing its name from UAV, UAS, RPAS, then boring the pants of various audiences as to why the latest name was important.

[Courtney Mil]

"Ah, Mr. al-Yazid. Welcome to the after life. Bad news - no 72 virgins, in fact not even one. As that bloke over there with the pointy tail, horns and toasting fork will be explaining to you for the next thousand years or so....!"


http://youtu.be/91DSNL1BEeY

[Lonewolf_50]

For all that we are charging gently into the future, some pilots like to remind the rest of the world that mid air collisions are still a risk, and that drones won't make that risk any less dangerous.

A recent bit by Sully on drones. (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QqQIwAGoVChMIh7KNwc2PxwIVQZiACh0FzQsz&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fsullenberger-drones-likely-to-cause-airplane-accidents%2F&ei=w8fAVcfEEMGwggSFmq-YAw&usg=AFQjCNG7Qr7XlSy_5Pytpu4uf_cORmznOQ&sig2=fHGEylEJnTE46kF411x3Jg&bvm=bv.99261572,d.dmo)

Drones of death ... filling the skies ... and nothing to do with warfare.

[WhiteOvies]

There is already history of mid-air collisions involving manned and unmanned aircraft in busy bits of military airspace and several Airprox style reports from drones flying near civilian airports.

It's only a matter of time as the small civi multi-rotor systems get cheaper and proliferate. People with absolutely no 'air sense', as Flight Safety like to call it, are flying these things all over the place and the CAA is powerless to stop them.

[Courtney Mil]

WO, the French are doing a pretty good job of tackling the small drone issue, including prosecutions. No reason the CAA can't do the same in the UK.

[glad rag]

Hmm, CM, think the reconnaissance of some highly sensitive sites may have kicked this off[and quite bloody right too]

[WhiteOvies]

Courtney, I hope they do take a lead from the French. The regulation and it's enforcement in the UK seems to be a bit slow in catching up with a growing problem. There are responsible drone flyers who post NOTAMs and I would hope that any regulation does not impact their hobby, however I feel that it would only take one fatal accident and subsequent knee jerk reaction policy to ruin things for everyone.

[Courtney Mil]

Indeed, WO. From both legislative and enforcement points of view it would be much easier to ban them altogether, so let's hope the idiots stop ruining it for everyone else.

Of course, the new larger ones, expensive as they are, could have all sorts of "other" uses (including that which GR refers to), which must also be causing some angst in the halls of the mighty. We may have got Al whatever his name is with one, his mates might consider using the same technology.

[Nige321]

From both legislative and enforcement points of view it would be much easier to ban them altogether

And the bad boys will, of course, take note of the ban...:ugh:

[Courtney Mil]

No, but the civil powers would have the legal option to "take out" any they see flying by kinetic or electronic means. And their sale and ownership could be banned. I'm condoning neither of these options. Whilst your point is valid,not may be slightly too dismissive.

P.S. Banging your head like that will hurt you. One of the less friendly "smilies".

[Nige321]

The problem is now there's millions of them out there already. You can ban them here, or perhaps across Europe, but I doubt China will stop posting them out to anyone with the money...

And what about DIY builds?
Do we ban the sale of brushless motors? Speed controllers? Microprocessors? Nuts and bolts??

The CAA have already prosecuted offenders - the big problem is catching 'em...

Sorry about the smiley - I keep having this conversation...
I work in the 'industry' (mil spec) as well as flying as a hobby, so I have an interest in both camps.
The CAA's reasoning is that a big prosecution with a big prison term might wake some of the loons up...

[Haraka]

Whilst we are on the subject.....
The overflights by "commercial " drones of such as , reported in France ,Nuclear sensitive sites is of concern.
We in the "West" no longer have the total monopoly on advanced technology.
Most of us are aware of "stealth" in the radar context , but there is a lot out there concerning optical stealth.
Indeed the first imagery of such a device could well be accidental and/or captured by a civilian who sees something "a bit odd" overhead. ( "Oh look, a UFO !" )
As far as I am aware no formalized effort has been put in to addressing this aspect of the problem.....

[Lonewolf_50]

Here's a better problem, Drones of Drugs.
I find the story mildly hilarious.

Drone drops drugs in Ohio prison yard, sparking inmate fight - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/drone-drops-drugs-in-ohio-prison-yard-sparking-inmate-fight/)

Someone was dropping drugs into a prison to help provide for the poor, under drugged inmates.

[Courtney Mil]

I think that should be considered a blessing, LoneWolf. Better than using a drone to airlift the inmates over the razor wire to freedom.:=

[ShotOne]

for sure these are a potential aviation hazard but let's put that into perspective; We've had tens of thousands of RC aircraft flying around, some of them quite large, for the last three or four decades with very few safety incidents.

In the military context the legal rules of engagement are becoming more of an issue. None of us will weep for the latest victim but what when these become more widespread? How would we feel about, say, Turkey using one toeliminate a Suspected PKK member in UK?

[melmothtw]

Personally, I think it is a good thing. Language evolves, and like it or not 'drone' is the term by which UAVs are known to the wider (non-PPRuNe) world.

To continue to rail against it smacks to me of being a tad King Cnut-ish (I had to very careful spelling that!)

[Mechta]

for sure these are a potential aviation hazard but let's put that into perspective; We've had tens of thousands of RC aircraft flying around, some of them quite large, for the last three or four decades with very few safety incidents.

ShotOne, Good point, and that's just radio controlled models. In the late '40s and early '50s when aeromodelling was at its peak, there were estimated to be two million model fliers.* It wasn't unusual for models to be found 20 or 30 miles from their point of launch if the dethermaliser failed. Allegedly, at some RAF stations, just about everyone from the Station Commander down went out on the airfield at lunchtime with a model and a can of diesel fuel.

Bearing in mind that these models had no external guidance at all, and you wouldn't want your jet engine to ingest a wayward Mills 75 or an ED Comp Special, how much of an outcry was there then?

* http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%200477.html (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1947/1947%20-%200477.html?search=aeromodeller)

[Tourist]

Personally, I think it is a good thing. Language evolves, and like it or not 'drone' is the term by which UAVs are known to the wider (non-PPRuNe) world.

To continue to rail against it smacks to me of being a tad King Cnut-ish (I had to very careful spelling that!)

Poor old Canute has had very bad press due to misunderstandings for far too long.

A little research will show that he was demonstrating to overly effusive underlings that his power was indeed limited, rather than actually trying to make the sea fall back before his power.

History lesson over.
Please continue.

[Courtney Mil]

Tourist,

Although I am no wiser, I am better informed now. Thank you.

[melmothtw]

Thanks also, Tourist.

In a similar way, the Emperor Caligula wasn't insane in making one of his horses a Tribune, as popular legend has it. He did it to put the Senate in its place, by demonstrating that even his horse has more power and relevance than them.

Epic thread drift.

[melmothtw]

for sure these are a potential aviation hazard but let's put that into perspective; We've had tens of thousands of RC aircraft flying around, some of them quite large, for the last three or four decades with very few safety incidents.

That's true, but previously it cost a lot of money, and an awful long time to build your own RC aircraft, never mind the fair degree of skill it took to fly one.

Those that did so tended to be enthusiasts with a modicum of airsense, whereas today any numpty can get their hands on one for a few quid, and they can practically fly themselves right into the flightpath of some unsuspecting airliner.

[CoffmanStarter]

Rest assured that the PPRuNe Mil BBQ Drone Gas Flight take their Air Space responsibilities very seriously indeed :E

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af162/CoffmanStarter/Screen%20Shot%202015-08-04%20at%2016.42.28_zps8b23teqg.jpg

[Courtney Mil]

Nice one, Coff.

Also, from everyone's favourite rag...

Cameron's former chief speech writer says we should be worried about drones | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3191760/Why-deeply-worried-rise-rise-drones-possibilities-great-threats-warns-David-Cameron-s-former-chief-speech-writer.html)

[BEagle]

Mini drones are generally only flown in fair weather. So once the cold, dark days of autumn, low cloud and heavy rain return, the craze will probably ease off in the UK.

Even R/C models are getting easier to fly now, with 'SAFE' technology stabilising their flight. There's also a 'Panic' button on some transmitters that will cause the model to return to straight and level flight, no matter what deflexions the operator is making to the transmitter controls:

?v=FU6w-YuUKGg&feature=player_embedded

Does look rather fun! Although hours of balsa-bashing and battling with diesel engines and 27 MHz radio was perhaps more rewarding?

[CoffmanStarter]

I agree BEagle :ok:

But this is more up your street I would have thought ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeL3LhrmeME


One certain Vulcan Pilot clearly seemed happy to watch on this occasion ...

Impressive take-off roll ... Impressive model of an impressive British aircraft :D

[Courtney Mil]

Wow, he put a lot of work into that.

[CoffmanStarter]

Returning to BEagle's original post on proposed EASA Drone Legislation. The draft proposals mention 'Drone Swarms' or 'Formation Drones' ... I suspect when the technology becomes more robust (not that far away) this type of operation is going to need some serious thinking about.

A video worth watching ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4

Coff.

[Tourist]

That video is stone age coffman....

Equivalent to the Sopwith Pup.

Things move fast in the tech world.