UAV updateAurora shows new, more lethal hovering killer drone

American UAVs are already lethal; so far this year, UAVs operated by the CIA and the U.S. military in Pakistan have already killed more than 365 people. Katie Drummond writes that now, the potential for military drones to be faster, more maneuverable, and deadlier has increased.

The Excalibur aircraft, a 13 foot-long, 10 foot-span, half-scale test model, took an inaugural proof-of-concept flight on 24 June, Aviation Week reports. Aurora Flight Sciences, the company behind the new drone, is planning a full-sized version that will carry four Hellfire missiles, at speeds of up to 400 knots. The Predator drone, by comparison, carries just two Hellfires, and cruises at just 70 knots. Unlike the Predator, the Excalibur does not need a runway to take off. It just floats into the sky, thanks a titling turbojet and three battery-powered lift fans.

Drummond notes that this is not the first time Aurora have created innovative models for unmanned military aircraft. For a DARPA project last year (dubbed the “forever drone”), the company came up with a three-vehicle air machine that could dock in the stratosphere and stay aloft for five years. They’ve also worked with military researchers on micro-drones that mimic the navigational know-how of bats and bugs (see 18 September 2008 HSDW). Now Aurora’s got an added boost of Pentagon expertise. Former DARPA director Anthony Tether recently joined the company’s Board of Directors.

Any military deployment is still a ways off: Aurora paid for the first flight themselves, and still plans to do several more test runs. The company’s hoping for funding to build the full-size model.