DefenceTalkIt’s not a bird, not a plane. But it could be someone’s personal drone coming to the skies near you. Some of the flying objects being shown at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas include items that are for play, personal photography and other uses which could lead to a market for the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/personal-drones-launch-in-your-skies-50068/

DefenceTalkToday’s emerging military technologies-including unmanned aerial vehicles, directed-energy weapons, lethal autonomous robots, and cyber weapons like Stuxnet-raise the prospect of upheavals in military practices so fundamental that they challenge long-established laws of war. Weapons that make their own decisions about targeting and killing humans, for example, have ethical and legal implications obvious and frightening enough […]https://www.defencetalk.com/technology-one-step-ahead-of-war-laws-50045/

DefenceTalkThe White House said Monday that the United States will remain strongly committed to Iraq as it fights al-Qaida affiliated groups, but it said, again, that American troops will not return to Iraq. The surge in fighting between Iraqi government forces and al-Qaida-linked militants is a concern to the United States, which is accelerating the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-accelerate-iraq-weapons-drone-deliveries-50036/

DefenceTalkUS aviation regulators on Monday released the names of sites picked to test civilian drones whose slated 2015 debut over American skies has sparked privacy concerns. Testing of the unmanned aircraft is due to start within three months and could continue until February 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. The FAA […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-names-drone-testing-sites-50006/

DefenceTalkThe US Army has for the first time successfully tested a vehicle-mounted laser that managed to shoot down incoming mortar rounds and drone aircraft, officials said Thursday. Installed in a dome-shaped turret atop a military vehicle, the high-energy laser hit more than 90 mortar bombs and several small unmanned planes over a six-week test at […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-reveals-laser-can-down-drones-mortars-49923/

DefenceTalkRussia’s armed forces will conduct test flights of a drone aircraft from the United Arab Emirates early next year, the manufacturer said. The unmanned United 40 Block 5 long-range reconnaissance vehicle will be tested to assess whether it meets the military’s operational needs. The medium-altitude drone can stay airborne for more than 100 hours and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-to-test-uae-made-drone-next-year-49815/

DefenceTalkThousands of people rallied in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore Sunday in protest at continued US drone strikes in the country’s troubled northwest. Around 5,000 protesters chanted anti-US slogans and called for an immediate end to the drone strikes at the rally organized by the Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC), a coalition of around 40 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/thousands-rally-in-pakistan-against-us-drone-attacks-49784/

DefenceTalkChina has tested its first stealth combat drone, state media said Friday, citing online photos of an aircraft resembling a shrunken US B2 bomber and hailing the advance toward Western-level technology. The test flight of the “Sharp Sword” unmanned aircraft is another step in China’s years-long military build-up, with its defence spending now the second […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-tests-first-stealth-combat-drone-media-49717/

DefenceTalkIran on Monday unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), the official IRNA news agency reported. “The Fotros drone has an operational range of 2,000 kilometres and can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours,” Defence Minister Mohammad Dehgan was quoted […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-unveils-attack-drone-with-2000-km-range-49684/

DefenceTalkUS airspace could be crowded with some 7,500 commercial drones within the next five years, this is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s new roadmap unveiled on Thursday. The announcement is the latest step toward transitioning drones from military use in the war on terrorism to collecting survey and weather data to assisting rescues and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/big-drone-plan-in-the-united-states-49618/