Wednesday, March 23, 2022 // (IG): BB //Weekly Sponsor: DiyGarage SoCal
Everything to know about Switchblades, the attack drones the US is giving Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: Last week, on Wednesday, March 16, President Joe Biden announced that the United States would send $800 million worth of military assistance to Ukraine to aid the country as it fights a defensive war against Russia’s invading military. Among the anti-tank, anti-aircraft, and anti-personnel weapons included in the aid package was a line entry for “100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems.” Later that day, those systems were confirmed to be Switchblade drones, a kind of piloted missile that can also be a scout. The US aid package also includes 20 million rounds of ammunition, grenades, and mortar rounds, as well as the 25,000 sets of body armor with matching helmets. As for those 100 Switchblades, here’s everything to know about these drone-like missiles. The Switchblade is a flying camera robot with an explosive inside. These all-electric machines are weapons that will help find or attack nearby enemies, not far-away ones. Switchblades come in two sizes: the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600. Both can be carried by one person, though the weight difference is substantial—a 300 weighs just 5.5 pounds and can fit inside a backpack. The 600 is heavier, with the missile itself weighing 33 lbs and the components needed to transport it much heavier.
READ THE STORY: POPSCI
Taiwan Seeking Datalink Equipment for SeaGuardian Drones
FROM THE MEDIA: The Taiwanese Air Force is requesting datalink equipment from the US to be integrated into its forthcoming MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones. Datalink equipment is used to establish digital communications between aerial and ground systems. It uses standardized radio technology operating on a high-frequency band to enable smooth air-to-ground communication exchanges with friendly aircraft. According to the service, the equipment would allow MQ-9B drones to share information with a joint command-and-control system for a comprehensive overview of all ongoing military operations. The four SeaGuardian drones that the Taiwanese Air Force is acquiring from the US already include line-of-sight ground data terminals and data connections for weapons integration.
READ THE STORY: The Defense Post
Which drones are compatible with DJI’s new RC Plus?
FROM THE MEDIA: DJI’s new RC Plus first leaked in an FCC filing in February, giving us the first look at what the drone leader will offer its enterprise users. The controller features a seven-inch screen, six quick access function buttons, and a combo internal plus hot-swappable battery. The RC Plus is designed to work in the most extreme environments. Offering an IP54 rating, the controller can be used in the rain or snow and extreme cold and heat. The features of the RC Plus don’t stop there. It also has a wide range of ports available to the pilot: microSD card, USB, HDMI, and USB-C. The RC Plus also supports 4G connectivity. Right now, only DJI enterprise drones are compatible with the new RC Plus controller; however, that might change in the future. The RC Plus is DJI’s new flagship enterprise controller, officially supporting the flagship M300 and new compact M30 drones. A small asterisk to that is the M300 won’t come with the RC Plus controller, but official support will come in the future. However, when purchasing the newer M30, the RC Plus will come in the box. There is no word if the RC Plus will gain support for the Mavic 2 or Phantom 4 enterprise versions either.
READ THE STORY: Drone DJ
Fact check: Footage shows firefighting drones in China, not Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: Images of bombarded cityscapes have flooded the internet as Russian forces continue to attack several Ukrainian cities and target residential districts. On social media, some are sharing out-of-context videos. A video shared in a March 12 Facebook post purports to show drones putting out a fire in the embattled nation. In the 30-second clip, six drones move up and down one side of a 10-floor cement structure to douse flames. “Drone firefighters used in Ukraine,” the post’s caption reads. The post accumulated over 32,000 reactions in nine days. The claim has also gained some traction on Twitter. But the post is misleading. The video does not show the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, but instead a 2020 drill in Chongqing, China. The footage in the post shows a January 2020 exercise in the Dazu district of Chongquing, according to a video description from iChongqing, the city’s culture and tourism agency.
READ THE STORY: USATODAY
Drones are changing search and rescue operations in Weber County
FROM THE MEDIA: New technology is making rescues faster and safer in Weber County and a recent rescue at North Fork Park proved it. Drone manufacturer DJI let deputies try out their newest rescue models and they said the technology took out nearly all of the guesswork. Having a bird’s-eye view is important in a search and rescue but adding infrared vision can be life-changing. “Within ten minutes of being on scene, that person knows he’s been found,” said Lt. Mark Horton who is on the Weber County Search and Rescue Team. “He’s just got to wait now for the rescue teams to get him.” Horton said that’s what happened during a recent search after a snowboarder became stranded. The cutting-edge drone was able to put a spotlight on the man and it showed rescuers where to go. “I had eyes on our patient and good solid coordinates before our teams even left the parking lot,” explained Kyle Nordfords who was behind the controls that night.
READ THE STORY: KSLTV
Is Skynet finally here? DJI Dock shows what's possible with autonomous drones
FROM THE MEDIA: At the recent DJI Enterprise event the manufacturer launched the brand new DJI M30 and M30T drones, and alongside them the DJI Dock – an autonomous docking station for the new devices, which offers human-free functions so startling that you might think Skynet is finally here. Essentially the DJI Dock is an autonomous takeoff, landing and charging station that allows for fully automatic, programmed flights with the DJI M30 Series (Dock Version). It widens the horizon for automated missions that can be monitored and supervised remotely. After setup, the fully charged M30 drone can take off to the skies from the DJI Dock through FlightHub 2-programmed automatic missions anywhere within a 7km radius. Let's break this down: when you really think about it, this is an amazing leap forward in technology and drone surveillance all rolled into one. So you have a drone that's between ten and fifteen grand, depending on which model you order, and it's able to do amazing things like geotag locations of a specific interest and then communicate that information to boots on the ground.
READ THE STORY: Digital Camera World
Canadian Draganfly drones to deliver medical supplies in war-torn Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: Draganfly says it is readying critical lifesaving drones for deployment with Revived Soldiers Ukraine (RSU), a non-profit organization focusing on medical response and rehabilitation of injured troops in Ukraine. While 10 medical drone delivery platforms and search and rescue drones will be dispatched by the Canada-based UAV manufacturer immediately, the initial order size can go up to 200 units, the company says. In addition, Draganfly will be donating three drone systems to RSU. Draganfly, which has received the order through channel partner Coldchain Delivery Systems, explains that its temperature-controlled drone delivery payload box can transport up to 35 pounds of medical supplies such as blood, pharmaceuticals, insulin/medicines, vaccines, water, and wound care kits. The platform is also uniquely top-mounted to make deliveries more accessible to soldiers and civilians alike.
READ THE STORY: DroneDJ
Ukraine Calls on Chinese Drone Maker to Stop Use by Russia
FROM THE MEDIA: Ukraine is appealing to a Chinese maker of civilian drones to block what the Ukrainian government says is their use by the Russian army to target missile attacks. Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov’s appeal to DJI Technology Co., publicized on Twitter, highlights the tensions over Ukraine for Chinese companies. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said this month Moscow is Beijing's “most important strategic partner" at a time when Western tech and other companies have withdrawn from Russia over its Feb. 24 invasion. Russian forces “are using DJI products in order to navigate their missile,” Federov wrote in a letter to DJI. He appealed to DJI to deactivate drones in Ukraine that were purchased and activated in Russia, Syria or Lebanon: “Block your products that are helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians!” DJI, in a letter on its own Twitter account, responded that it can't deactivate individual drones but can impose geofencing, or software restrictions that usually are used to keep drones away from airports or other sensitive areas. The company said that would affect all DJI drones in Ukraine. DJI, headquartered in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, is one of the biggest makers of civilian drones used by photographers, businesses and hobbyists. It is a leader in technology that uses satellite navigation to guide drones to precise locations.
READ THE STORY: Military
LEONARDO DA VINCI’S FLYING MACHINE TAKES TO THE SKY AS A DRONE
FROM THE MEDIA: A quadcopter drone that uses ancient technology instead of modern propellers made a huge impression at the recent Transformative Vertical Flight conference. University of Maryland graduate student Austin Prete made the remotely operated vehicle, called Crimson Spin. It has four aerial screws instead of modern propellers. Leonardo da Vinci sketched something similar more than 500 years ago. And the same principle is behind the bamboo-copter toy invented in China at least 1,000 years before that. Now the concept has a 21st century prototype. As spotted at Gizmodo, the Crimson Spin is the next generation of a prototype that won the Vertical Flight Society’s student design contest in 2020. A group of University of Maryland students, including Prete, won that year’s theme to put da Vinci’s design to the test. The society was founded in 1943, shortly after the invention of the first helicopter. It is committed to advancing VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) technologies. The conference attracts representatives from the aerospace industry, military, and universities, as well as NASA and the FAA. The technology is constantly advancing, creating new uses for drones, from light shows to finding animals in need of rescue.
READ THE STORY: Nerdist
Whisper Drone charts a course for high-speed electric flight
FROM THE MEDIA: On March 9, Whisper Aero CEO Mark Moore unveiled the first public image of the “Whisper Drone” during a presentation at HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas, Tex. The Tennessee-based startup is using the fixed-wing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drone to test its ultra-quiet electric propulsion technology, and early results are reportedly promising. Whisper Aero co-founder Ian Villa claimed on Twitter that the drone is inaudible from just 200 feet away, a dramatic improvement over competing products like the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle. The 55-pound, 12-foot wingspan drone could find military or commercial applications in the near term, but it’s also part of a larger plan to electrify high-speed flight. “So many people associate electric aircraft with slow aircraft that are low power,” Moore told The Air Current in a recent interview. “We are going to prove that electric aircraft with the right tech actually want to be very fast and very productive.”
READ THE STORY: The Air Current
RAF’s first synthetic fuel drone flight – supported by Callen-Lenz
FROM THE MEDIA: Callen-Lenz is delighted to have been instrumental in delivering the Royal Air Force’s ground-breaking work in using sustainable aviation fuel, an international collaboration between UK and US. This was the first successful drone flight for the Royal Air Force (RAF) using an alternative to fossil fuel – synthetic kerosene. The novel fuel was tested in one of Callen-Lenz’s four-metre 30 kg Fregata UAVs. This drone test flight took place at Callen-Lenz’s flight test site in South Wiltshire and alongside a Callen-Lenz VTOL Fixed-Wing UAV, KOIOS for comparison. During the flight trials in December 2021, Synthetic kerosene was trialled; entirely fossil fuel-free, made by mixing raw materials with high sugar levels, such as food waste, with bacteria to create an oil substance that is then converted into aviation fuel using chemicals and heat.
READ THE STORY: SUAS News
Items of interest
Life Saving Drones: How drones save lives in Search and Rescue Missions(Video)
Drone SAR.
Footage from a racing drone(Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: This drone racing footage by Benoit Finck explores an abandoned coal factory in South West France. The pilot wears special goggles that are connected to the drone's camera. This gives the illusion of flying and can create an adrenaline rush. Racing drones are typically designed and built by hobbyists, since they are not available to buy in shops.
About this Product
These open source products are reviewed from analysts at InfoDom Securities and provide possible context about current media trends in regard to the realm of cyber security. The stories selected cover a broad array of cyber threats and are intended to aid readers in framing key publicly discussed threats and overall situational awareness. InfoDom Securities does not specifically endorse any third-party claims made in their original material or related links on their sites, and the opinions expressed by third parties are theirs alone. Contact InfoDom Securities at dominanceinformation@gmail.com