back to article British and US militaries' drone swarm hackathon definitely isn't about army tech

The British military has commissioned a hackathon to develop drone swarms – while claiming that it's definitely not about developing dual-use military tech. A partnership between Britain's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and America's Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) invites the public to "develop new and …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well..

    .. that's going to take a whole new type of pesticide to keep 'em away.

    How do one aim an EMP?

    1. Aladdin Sane

      Re: Well..

      Makes me wonder how a drone's electronics would cope if you were to focus a radar beam on it for several seconds.

  2. Omgwtfbbqtime
    Mushroom

    Forget the bombs- just attach low power* red laser pointers and dazzle the opposition. Its hard to shoot back if you can't see (temporarily).

    Plus one of those lasers "might" be the designator, keep the oppos occupied swatting the drones whilst the JDAM makes its way from 10Km.

    * low power as its not meant to blind permanently... It is prohibited to employ laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision...**

    ** Yeah, I know... Wikipedia is not a credible source - but this not an academic paper and I am lazy.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Some people never learn

    I regret to say that I'm sceptical of the chances of this nonsense producing anything credible for either military or civilian use. But let's assume it does. What do the retards of MoD promise to do?

    the winning British team would be shipped out to the embassy in Washington DC to "present their winning ideas"

    I remain firmly of the view that all of MoD are foreign agents and/or pacifists.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Some people never learn

      Have you considered that perhaps the MoD has thought this one through, and sending the winning team to DC is kind of a "B Ark" scenario.

      "Ah yes, naturally you want to RETURN to the UK. Perfectly understandable, old chap. However, we seem to have accidentally deleted your passport and identification files. We're making every effort to restore them, so give us a call in a few weeks if you haven't heard back from us!"

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Terminator

    I for one welcome...

    Our autonomous arsonist drone armada overlords!!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wrong location

    "The UK drone hackathon will take place between 29-31 March at Southampton's Solent University."

    They should hold the event in Gatwick.

    Maybe the creators of the mysterious dissapearing industrial sized stealth drones that are invisible to photographic equipment will participate in the hack-a-thon.

    (Sorry, someone had to say it)

  6. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    Will they ever learn...

    One only has to play through the story of Horizon Zero Dawn to see how these drone swarms work out for humanity and the planet.

    Hint : It doesn't end well for us.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    GT-i9300 screens

    Not saying any more.

    Except that "Unbelievably light" somes to mind.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like