Stand By To Ram!

From Avweb:

"British anti-drone technology development house MARSS is hoping to begin delivering its distinctive Interceptor air vehicle to customers later this year."

"The Interceptor, an electric-powered air vehicle with a flight endurance of several minutes, has been developed with the aim of bringing down the cost of engaging small uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) by ramming them in midair, with the ability to make multiple engagements during a single flight. Now the company is working on completing development of the system, which was revealed at the first edition of the World Defense Show in 2022. "We are still conducting research and development on the system," MARSS' Middle East Regional Director Andy Forbes told Aerospace DAILY on Feb. 4."

"One of our challenges has been building flight time with the Interceptor in the UK," Forbes says, with efforts hindered by inclement weather."

Make a tv show like robowars and it will a jiffy.

Nerd and boystoys fest combined.

I think that ramming will be just the first stage. Next they will equip the drones with single shot .22 armament. This eventually will be increased to multiple .30 caliber guns. Then the drones will be able to carry hand grenades and then small bombs. Eventually we will see drones capable of carrying people, enabling direct pilot control, which will be much superior. Then there will be a competition to see who can build a man carrying drone capable of flying from New York to Paris.

MIflyer said:

I think that ramming will be just the first stage. Next they will equip the drones with single shot .22 armament. This eventually will be increased to multiple .30 caliber guns. Then the drones will be able to carry hand grenades and then small bombs. Eventually we will see drones capable of carrying people, enabling direct pilot control, which will be much superior. Then there will be a competition to see who can build a man carrying drone capable of flying from New York to Paris.

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Most of that has been done already.
There were attempts to install small arms on cheap drones and to make them "fighters". Probably, still in the prototype stage.
Hand grenades, small bombs, and other ordnance are dropped in hundreds if not in thousands every day.
People (wounded) have been carried by drones since 2023 (maybe since 2022).

A man-carrying drone where a man is an operator sounds weird at first glance but, who knows?
Real story. Ukrainian soldier fell overboard when his boat escaped the attack by an enemy jet and spent 14 hours at sea. He was rescued by another boat and that was extremely risky in the area where Russian A-50 can see almost everything.
Now, imagine that there is a rescue drone (marine or air) that picks up the survivor and allows him to control the movement on its way back. For example, to avoid an obstacle that is not detected by a remote operator...

About the ramming.
There are videos of FPV drones trying to ram each other (not in the competition, but over the frontline).
We will see how it develops. Something like that but of smaller dimensions?

View: https://youtu.be/6l9pyaRaJ5A?si=UVfBmwpoIgZA6lZ_&t=553

Dimlee said:

Most of that has been done already.
There were attempts to install small arms on cheap drones and to make them "fighters". Probably, still in the prototype stage.
Hand grenades, small bombs, and other ordnance are dropped in hundreds if not in thousands every day.
People (wounded) have been carried by drones since 2023 (maybe since 2022).

A man-carrying drone where a man is an operator sounds weird at first glance but, who knows?
Real story. Ukrainian soldier fell overboard when his boat escaped the attack by an enemy jet and spent 14 hours at sea. He was rescued by another boat and that was extremely risky in the area where Russian A-50 can see almost everything.
Now, imagine that there is a rescue drone (marine or air) that picks up the survivor and allows him to control the movement on its way back. For example, to avoid an obstacle that is not detected by a remote operator...

Click to expand...

Like one of the larger "Sea Babies" equipped for rescue?

SaparotRob said:

Like one of the larger "Sea Babies" equipped for rescue?

Click to expand...

Something like that. Or one of the variants of "Magura". I hope that we'll see them in the Dnieper River at Krynki bridgehead where medical evacuation is done by small boats today. Less size, less infrared signature, more agile...