Just when you thought drones were shedding their clandestine military past and becoming a civilian friendly hobby for gadget fans…
A US tech firm has developed a drone with machine gun and grenade launcher attachments that can be remotely fired upon enemies.
The Tikad drone, from Duke Robotics, can open fire via an operator using a remote control on the ground.
The military UAV is available to forces for an undisclosed fee. The company claims it’ll lessen the need for ground troops.
Related: UK drone laws explained
“As a former Special Mission Unit commander, I have been in the battlefield for many years,” said Duke Robotics CEO Raziel Atuar.
“Over the last few years, we have seen how the needs of our troops in our battlefield have changed.”
Street view
However, the invention has sparked fears over what may happen if the heavily armoured drone gets into the wrong hands.
Professor Noel Sharkey, a robotics expert, told the BBC: ”Big military drones traditionally have to fly thousands of feet overhead to get to targets, but these smaller drones could easily fly down the street to apply violent force.
“This is my biggest worry since there have been many legal cases of human-rights violations using the large fixed-wing drones, and these could potentially result in many more.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
