December 14, 2018
The Navy Wants Swarm Weapons That Can Do Something Amazing
This would allow a drone “to ‘dock’ on a power line in an urban environment, scavenging magnetic energy as a means to trickle-charge its onboard batteries prior to mission continuation.
by Michael Peck
The U.S. Navy wants to develop drones that are powered by harvesting “battlefield energy.â€
Which is a more charitable way of describing a drone that flies by stealing electricity from power lines.
The problem is that future conflicts are likely to feature clouds of small drones, whether operating in swarms to overwhelm an enemy, or a mini-drone carried in a soldier’s pocket that flies ahead to scout out a building. But tiny drones have tiny batteries measured in thirty minutes or so of flight, and the battlefield is not the place to search for an electrical outlet to recharge.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/navy-wants-swarm-weapons-can-do-something-amazing-38662
