One Drone To Rule Them All?

[Atheist-Lite]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/ ... nnel=11563

AIRSHOW-EADS says Europe needs only one drone

(Reuters) - Europe needs to co-operate on the next generation of military drones or it will repeat costly divisions which led to rival combat jets competing for the same orders, aerospace group EADS warned on Sunday.

The warning on the eve of the Paris Air Show follows a decision by Britain and France to push other defence companies into working on an armed drone, which could leave an alternative project in which EADS (EAD.PA) is involved out in the cold.

"We are not pleased by the development that we have two potentially competing projects in Europe, where obviously Europe is not a position to come up with 300 million euros ($425 million) for the next few years to develop one project," Stefan Zoller, head of EADS' defence and security unit Cassidian, said.

EADS has spent years developing the Talarion unmanned aerial vehicle at its own expense in the hope of winning an order from the project's instigators France, Germany and Spain.

(continued)

[JimC]

And I think it should have an advanced AI system, capable of making autonomous decisions about where, when and on whom it should unleash its array of missiles.

What could go wrong?

[Feck]

And I think it should have an advanced AI system, capable of making autonomous decisions about where, when and on whom it should unleash its array of missiles.

What could go wrong?

[JimC]

And I think it should have an advanced AI system, capable of making autonomous decisions about where, when and on whom it should unleash its array of missiles.

What could go wrong?

We could hack the system...

Church-seeking missiles?

[Clinton Huxley]

Hopefully, the damned thing will be developed under a PFI initiative, arrive 10 years late, massively over budget and be cancelled the day after it goes into service. The British taxpayer demands no less.