Let’s take a break from politics and have a look at the amazing way that technology has developed in the past decade.
All those small radio controlled helicopters you see in the stores these days? Yeah well, they - or ones very similar - are already in use for keeping an eye on things in the military.
Here’s a brief video about one such very small remotely piloted vehicle in use by the British Army in Afghanistan. Tough out the fusilier’s thick Geordie accent. What he is says is that he and a section of a soldiers (about eight) can use these tiny Black Hornet cameras to scout just a few metres around their location to spot any problems.
The device is quiet and despite being at the mercy of winds, it's a huge gain for soldiers. Ordinarily, as this fellow explains, he'd have to send a couple of men to look in the next house or the next street. They can always be killed or injured and in tight situations, weakening the section by even a soldier or two puts the whole group at risk.There’s a slightly better view of the Black Hornet in this story from the British Forces Broadcasting Service.
You can also find more examples of the same technology - some looking like insects - if you search youtube for “nano UAV”.
-srbp-