With Google and Amazon unveiling their new drones,
NASA has called for private partners to join its ambitious plan to create a low-altitude air traffic network over the US - that will be run without human traffic controllers - within 10 years.
In a tender published on Wednesday, the agency's Silicon Valley-based Ames Research Center encouraged "public, private, and academic organizations to collaborate with NASA to conduct Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and UAS Traffic Management (UTM) research and development with the collective goal of safely enabling these operations at lower altitudes by UTM system."
The studies will focus on mapping out corridors and no-fly areas (like airfields) creating a collision detection system, and programming an algorithm that will allow drones to safely fly in hazardous conditions such as rain, and strong wind, which is a particular danger for such light objects.
Take the boku haram problem for a start. They already use drones to spot their camps and monitor their movements. Just one little step further is to add an explosives charge to the copter fly it right into the camp as closeto a soldier as possible and away from hostages then boom.
Next tech advancement is not to waste a whole copter to take out a small number. Equip the copter with chargers or grenades. Fly above the camp. Drop the bombs. Move copter out of sight. Rearm. Send it back. Continue until they surrender.
Escalation. No army moves without anti mini aircraft detect and destroy units. The units are a small Iron Shield varient. Spot flying hostile craft sound an alert take them down. This will not stop suicide bomber copter tactics unless defence mechanisms can blow them up.
Only a matter of time.