Predator w/ Sniper Rifle

There has been some talk of mounting a 40mm weapon on a Dragonfly UAV.
See:

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/...ewID=news_view

But I'm not sure if this will ever make it past the concept stage.

"tscottme" wrote in message
...
Steve Hix wrote in message
..
.

Hardly. Quite a few locals are fed up with the jihadis, particularly
al
Sadr's mob.

Yes you can tell the jihadis are losing popular support by the
ever-so-displeased glance the locals try from time to time./sarcasm

Give the locals a clear option, kill the jihadis or be killed while we
kill them. The locals can't be allowed to remain neutral. Hell it
might do the Arabs good to actually participate in their freedom, it's
done wonders for many others.

There have been reports of vigilantes hanging a few of al-Sadr's
men. They leave nice notes explaining why too.

"Dav1936531" wrote in message
...
I am seeing all kinds of pics comming out of Iraq of the jihadis mulling
around
in the streets carrying RPG's and AK's.

I was just wondering if it would be possible to make a Predator drone with
a
.50 caliber sniper rifle in it to pick these guys off. Say, put a magazine
with
50 or 100 rounds onboard, loiter the drone over bad guy areas, spot them
with
the Predator's optical systems, and zap them. Human snipers using the .50
have
kill shots from over 1 mile away.

Of course, linkage between the optical system and the gun's aim point
would
have to be worked out.

I realize the Predators can fire the Hellfire (IIRC), but in civilian
areas
using this may be too politically inexpediant.

Would the Predator be stable enough for something like that?

I would think, if it is, you could make a platform that could take care of
large numbers of enemy with minimum civilian damage and at low cost.
Further,
the jihadis would live under the constant threat of instant termination
whereever they are identifiable by the Predator operator as weapons
carrying
enemies.

Comments?
Dave

It's a good idea, though a gun system would probably not work as well as one
would like.

However, a directed energy weapon would be absolutely perfect. A small
high-powered laser mounted on a gimbal beneath the drone would be ideal for
picking off small to mid-size individual moving targets, at almost any
angle, accurately and with truly minimal collateral damage. It would track
targets just like a laser designator, but with more bang. We could pick out
and fry people, trucks, cars, etc., instantly and without any major
commotion. No big explosion, no nothing. Just zap, you're dead.

I don't know if a system package that could fit on the Predator is currently
available, but it's definately a good idea; and with all the past and curent
research regarding directed energy weapons, I can't imagine that we wouldn't
be able to get one flying sometime relatively soon.

I do know, however, that the Air Force has specifically requested that the
AC-130 gunship replacement (AC-X; whatever that may be), be equipped with
directed energy weapons.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...craft/ac-x.htm

"Dav1936531" wrote in message
...
I am seeing all kinds of pics comming out of Iraq of the jihadis mulling
around
in the streets carrying RPG's and AK's.

I was just wondering if it would be possible to make a Predator drone with
a
.50 caliber sniper rifle in it to pick these guys off. Say, put a magazine
with
50 or 100 rounds onboard, loiter the drone over bad guy areas, spot them
with
the Predator's optical systems, and zap them. Human snipers using the .50
have
kill shots from over 1 mile away.

Of course, linkage between the optical system and the gun's aim point
would
have to be worked out.

I realize the Predators can fire the Hellfire (IIRC), but in civilian
areas
using this may be too politically inexpediant.

Would the Predator be stable enough for something like that?

I would think, if it is, you could make a platform that could take care of
large numbers of enemy with minimum civilian damage and at low cost.
Further,
the jihadis would live under the constant threat of instant termination
whereever they are identifiable by the Predator operator as weapons
carrying
enemies.



It's a good idea, though a gun system would probably not work as well as one
would like.

However, a directed energy weapon would be absolutely perfect. A small
high-powered laser mounted on a gimbal beneath the drone would be ideal for
picking off small to mid-size individual moving targets, at almost any
angle, accurately and with truly minimal collateral damage. It would track
targets just like a laser designator, but with more bang. We could pick out
and fry people, trucks, cars, etc., instantly and without any major
commotion. No big explosion, no nothing. Just zap, you're dead.

I don't know if a system package that could fit on the Predator is currently
available, but it's definately a good idea; and with all the past and curent
research regarding directed energy weapons, I can't imagine that we wouldn't
be able to get one flying sometime relatively soon.

I do know, however, that the Air Force has specifically requested that the
AC-130 gunship replacement (AC-X; whatever that may be), be equipped with
directed energy weapons.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...craft/ac-x.htm

In article ,
"tscottme" wrote:

Steve Hix wrote in message
..
.

Hardly. Quite a few locals are fed up with the jihadis, particularly
al Sadr's mob.

Yes you can tell the jihadis are losing popular support by the
ever-so-displeased glance the locals try from time to time./sarcasm

Some of them are starting to form up groups to take out al Sadr
supporters at night. Look around for references to Thulfiqar.

U.S.-trained SF troops are starting to operate with U.S. troops around
Najaf, too.

Give the locals a clear option, kill the jihadis or be killed while we
kill them. The locals can't be allowed to remain neutral. Hell it
might do the Arabs good to actually participate in their freedom, it's
done wonders for many others.

No civilians ever sat by in either Europe or Asia during WW2, did they?

VIPER STRIKE does this job nicely (or will once it reaches Iraq) -
Laser guided submunition dropped by a Hunter UAV -

What are the economics of this? How much does such a rig cost, as
against the cost of offering paradise to the next jihadist?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

On Sun, 16 May 2004 06:21:16 -0400, Cub Driver
wrote:


VIPER STRIKE does this job nicely (or will once it reaches Iraq) -
Laser guided submunition dropped by a Hunter UAV -

What are the economics of this? How much does such a rig cost, as
against the cost of offering paradise to the next jihadist?

I'm not sure what you mean - what has the next jihadist got to do with
it?


Peter Kemp

On 16 May 2004 02:29:41 GMT, Dav1936531 wrote:

Consequently, I was wondering about the possibility of a Predator as sort of a
sniper platform. It was just a thought, but I am starting to think the required
level of precision hitting the target would probably be unattainable.......at
least with a .50 BMG round.

Now a tungsten flechette fired from a sabot gun....that might just do the
trick.

While a high-velocity sabot gun would have a longer range, it
wouldn't solve the problem of pointing it in the right direction.
(And the longer the range, the more accurate the pointing has to
be).

--
"It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than
people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia
(Email: zen19725 at zen dot co dot uk)

On 16 May 2004 02:29:41 GMT, (Dav1936531) wrote:

Consequently, I was wondering about the possibility of a Predator as sort of a
sniper platform. It was just a thought, but I am starting to think the required
level of precision hitting the target would probably be unattainable.......at
least with a .50 BMG round.

Now a tungsten flechette fired from a sabot gun....that might just do the
trick.

How about a medium powered sniper IR laser?
(I'm not talking starwars here) - but enough to blind/maim the
intended target(s) - no need to worry about windage, just point &
click. It'd keep collateral casualties to a minumum too...

Cheers,
N

On Sun, 16 May 2004 23:10:55 +1000, Nina
wrote:

On 16 May 2004 02:29:41 GMT, (Dav1936531) wrote:

Consequently, I was wondering about the possibility of a Predator as sort of a
sniper platform. It was just a thought, but I am starting to think the required
level of precision hitting the target would probably be unattainable.......at
least with a .50 BMG round.

Now a tungsten flechette fired from a sabot gun....that might just do the
trick.

How about a medium powered sniper IR laser?
(I'm not talking starwars here) - but enough to blind/maim the
intended target(s) - no need to worry about windage, just point &
click. It'd keep collateral casualties to a minumum too...

First off blinding weapons are highly illegal, as are weapons intended
to maim (though it's ok to kill someone - go figure), and secondly,
powerful lasers are probably not viable on a small platform like a UAV
for a while, simply for power source and size reasons.

I do like the visual though - some nutter in a market place waves an
RPG around chanting "death to the infidels" and a few seconds later
drops dead with flash burns and a smell of cooking bacon.

Peter Kemp