20 Comments
User's avatar
Brick Top's avatar

@Charlie Angus / The Resistance , this is the type of thing Canada needs to invest in.

Stop total reliance on Orange Shitler.

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USIBARIS's avatar

It should be live tested in Ukraine.

ASAP

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marcus816's avatar

My thought, exactly.

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Tankster's avatar

Now if the Lucky Country could only get it's collective head out of its' arse and stop supporting people who want to kill all of them, rape and torture them to convince them to convert to Islam, or try living as Dhimmi. The enemy's motto, "First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People." Athiests get no mercy either. Submit or choose in the 3 Card Monty game.

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Sugarpine Press's avatar

Hey, Wes,

Two questions for your consideration:

1. Terrestrial self-driving continues to struggle. Is it just easier with a more reliable sensor array, in the wide open skies, even in formation? Picturing a Tesla wedged under a truck.

2. How far behind is China in fielding something similar? The incentives for doing so must be very high.

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Joe's avatar

Self-flying is infinitely less challenging because the sky is just not that crowded, and you’re not having to anticipate so many nonsensical maneuvers from other vehicles and pedestrians.

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Peter Crew's avatar

LOL “scarier than a magpie in swooping season”. Considering it is currently swooping season, that’s gold. Hopefully we can ramp up production before Uncle Xi decides to get cute with Taiwan. As always, nice work Wes.

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USIBARIS's avatar

I like the flowery metaphors.

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Chris (CJ Fitz)'s avatar

This is good.

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Michael Schiller's avatar

Wow, Wes. Thing looks like an Olmos Cylon nightmare... just needs the red line across the front with a light moving back and forth...

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Will Liley's avatar

Wes, I love your stuff but here’s a question: what did you do to offend the Brisbane mayor’s wife? The mind boggles!

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Jon Palin's avatar

Add a different lethal animal to the Australian menagerie... the Ghost Shark https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/10/ghost-shark-submarine-drone-australian-navy-explainer

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Stephen Reynolds's avatar

Can it do fisheries surveillance and disaster relief surveys? Those are current real world issues in the Pacific.

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josephkoval1974's avatar

Australia is to busy worrying about Ukraine and going to war with China. Damn actually domestic problems, let's hitch up to the western war machine bandwagon. We hear in the States are happy to use Japan, Australia, and South Korea as sacrificial lambs to be throw toward China.

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Meddling Kid's avatar

What’s the expected cost per unit at scale compared to the manned aircraft?

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marcus816's avatar

Excellent on all counts!

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Marcus's avatar

Doubt it

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Jan Mouchet's avatar

Thanks for this article !!

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Conor Buckley's avatar

“For Canberra, that means jobs, sovereignty…”

Hmmm. We will have to see how many are per year. I suspect four will be built before pay rise demands and strikes set in.

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