Quick question: Didn't the CF already order UAVs? When are they coming?
Do we need a new topic for this?
I've done some homework on the video and found a number of camera options, including a dual-head camera which auto-mixes an IR (sees at night, through dust, smoke, fog etc) and CCD (good to 0.1 lux, sees b&w in moonlight, colour in daylight) based on lighting conditions. It has a head that swivels up and down 80 degrees. Dunno how hard that would be to hook up to the remote controller for looking down or ahead as needed. The camera alone is $10,000. Don't f'n lose it. So far this is my favourite option.
CCD only cameras are much cheaper and some are lighter.
These are not wireless network (802.11) based but rather based on existing wireless CCTV security systems. There are battery powered wireless hand-held receivers available. Standard TV resolution, no video recorder. I don't know if you would have the ability to receive and record video in a vehicle on a bigger screen.
The wireless video range is 100 yards or so, but the controller is good for up to a mile. I don't think an airplane is suitable, so I've been looking for remote controlled helicopters capable of lifting 20lbs. Ones with two contra-rotating main rotors instead of a tail rotor look like they would be easier to fly but would need more custom work. Apparently a regular model with a tail rotor has a steeper learning curve.
The engine options are electric or gas powered. I am tending towards the electric because it is very quiet. You get more power and in-the-air time with gas but it's as stealthy as your average lawn mower. The downside of electric is short flight time (15 minutes or so, just long enough to pop it up and look around from 100 yards up) and the need to keep spare batteries and the ability to charge them. This would require (at least) access to a 12v cigarette lighter in a running vehicle. A gas engine would still need a battery for the camera.
I've also looked at a couple of different controllers. I don't know much about hiding or masking radio signals, but it seems to me that you don't want the guy holding the controller to be broadcasting his exact location to anyone with the gear to pick it up. Some of these controllers and wireless video transmitters use spread spectrum in the 2.4Ghz range. I'd like to hear from someone more knowledgeable that a) this would not make the operator an easy target or b) you guys have your own transmitters / receivers / wireless controllers which do not suffer the short distance / lit-up-like-a-radio-christmas-tree limitations that off-the-shelf civilian components do.
I haven't done any research on weapons yet. You guys don't want my bi-plane, but someone asked for a cannon. Would a 9-pounder do? Brass or iron? You'd have to provide powder and shot yourselves it's too hard to obtain by mail-order.
The better controllers have as many as six buttons / channels that can be made to do different things. The easiest option might be to set up unattached 12-volt red and black wires so they become live when you push a button. Should work with the explosives and detonator of your choice to create a flying bomb. Pull the camera and you can put 5lbs of whatever you like in it.
I'd make this all as small and stowable as possible but it would be clunky, and include more parts than I would like -- controller, video receiver, helicopter, plus batteries and chargers for all three.
Clunky means difficult to smuggle. Assuming I could Fed-Ex this thing to Kandahar, how many hours of latrine cleaning would be involved in getting caught loading unauthorized gear into a LAVIII? If I'm wasting my time then do let me know before I start hitting people up for money for parts.
Thucydides -- Thanks! Looks like one of my favourite planes from Microsoft's Crimson Skies game.
