Monday, May 25, 2015

Snowgoose to the rescue?

StrategyPage discusses the CQ 10 A, a drone that takes off with the help of a Hummer and uses a parafoil...



and it's newest version, the CQ 10 B a helicopter like drone,


both of which can be used to bring supplies to isolated areas.

more at the future of things website.



MMIST from future of things website

again, from StrategyPage:
The SnowGoose is basically rectangular box (on skids) with a 115 horsepower engine, fuel supply, parafoil controls, and six cargo compartments (carrying up to 45 kg/100 pounds each). The CA-10A ejects the cargo containers when it is low and within 30 meters (100 feet) of the GPS coordinates it was programmed with. The CQ-10B can land for unloading.
Since 2005 SOCOM has bought at least 75 CQ-10As (at about $500,000 each) for use in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. The CQ-10A has a range of 300 kilometers and a top speed of 61 kilometers an hour. The B version has a range of 600 kilometers and a top speed of 120 kilometers an hour. The CQ-10B costs $650,000 each and nearly $300 an hour to operate. The CQ-10B is seen as very useful for disaster relief operations and is being offered to organizations that handle emergency relief.

Right now they are used to supply small units, but when I remember how hard it is to get basic supplies to isolated civilians after typhoons/landslides/earthquakes/tsunamis, you can see the life saving spin off of these war drones. Six hundred pounds of supplies is not much, but it could keep folks alive until you can get in trucks or more supplies from large helicopter.

Indeed, smaller drones are already being used  (link2)to help after the Nepal earthquake, mostly to find where people are trapped (via thermal imaging) or as reconnisance to see if people need help.










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