Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman [NYSE: NOC]
Sometimes I have trouble controlling myself when it comes to some of this stuff. I have seen it before on TV, but just simply haven’t gotten around to writing about it. I’m talking about the awe-inspiring Fire Scout UAV helicopter. A remote control helicopter capable of autonomous take-off, landing, and flight, it really just makes me giddy. Not to mention that this death machine’s release was coupled with an upgrade to the Hydra 70 rockets typically fired from the rocket pods mounted on Ah-64 Apaches. Now they’re laser-guided. …

The MQ9 Reaper
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

–An altitude, endurance, and long-range upgrade to the original Predator UAV

Imagine coming home from a hard day’s work, relaxing on the couch, and busting out your XBOX 360. Instead of playing a video game, you decide it would be nice to unwind while thinking to yourself…”ten seconds to impact”, then witnessing the full-color obliteration of an opportunistic target in Iraq. While this situation is not entirely accurate, it is very close to what US Air Force pilots of tomorrow will be doing on a daily basis as they command the new squadron of…

This is the unmanned aerial vehicle that a soldier can “slingshot” into operation from a position on the ground. The desert Hawk can be used to gather intel on enemy positions with an effective range of approximately 10 Kilometers. The Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or SUAV flies at about 500 meters high and can be operated by a 2 man crew at a top speed of just over 60 MPH.

Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]

The Desert Hawk is well suited for day and night surveillance, thanks to its detachable “video payload.” The day version features three simple digital cameras

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The Hellfire Missile

Mfg: Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]

The Hellfire missile is the main armament of the American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. The apache is not the only war machine to utilize the Hellfire, and the history of the Hellfire’s development attests to the business acumen of the US defence industry. After WWII, the DOD began to research with employing laser technology for military applications. Once laser technology and missile design had been perfected, large defense contractors incorporated textbook marketing principles such as modular design to increase versatility and ease of manufacturing. For example, the warhead of…