db_zero Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 (edited) Is there any plans to implement squad level tactical drones? I recently picked up a DJI drone and I'm blown away. HD camera that is gimble mounted. Stabilization, auto hover and other features. You can link to your smartphone, tablet or VR goggles. You can even control it with your hands and program it to follow you and do other things. The military already uses squad level drones and the tactical applications are obvious. Think of it like mortars are/ when they were referred to as your own personal artillery...now even the smallest element can have they own drones on immediate call. The drones modeled in CM are of a different type. What I'm referring to is something that can be carried and operated by 1 person and available and attached to squads. I'm hooked. I now have a squadron of these things. You can get small cheap ones that have HD cameras. They may not have a gimble for the camera, but auto hover and stabilization are included in many. Its only as matter of time before even the cheap ones have a gimble for the camera and 4K capability. Some of my drones are smaller than my hand. No camera or ability to link to smartphone/tablet or VR glasses...yet.... Edited October 6, 2018 by db_zero 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vet 0369 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 2 hours ago, db_zero said: Is there any plans to implement squad level tactical drones? I recently picked up a DJI drone and I'm blown away. HD camera that is gimble mounted. Stabilization, auto hover and other features. You can link to your smartphone, tablet or VR goggles. You can even control it with your hands and program it to follow you and do other things. The military already uses squad level drones and the tactical applications are obvious. Think of it like mortars are/ when they were referred to as your own personal artillery...now even the smallest element can have they own drones on immediate call. The drones modeled in CM are of a different type. What I'm referring to is something that can be carried and operated by 1 person and available and attached to squads. I'm hooked. I now have a squadron of these things. You can get small cheap ones that have HD cameras. They may not have a gimble for the camera, but auto hover and stabilization are included in many. Its only as matter of time before even the cheap ones have a gimble for the camera and 4K capability. Some of my drones are smaller than my hand. No camera or ability to link to smartphone/tablet or VR glasses...yet.... Probably not. I haven't seen anything about using drones at any level below the Platoon. The U.S. Military generally keeps tight control over any type of information. I would be concerned about the drone being shot down, crashing, or hijacked, and being recovered and dissected by the opponent. Iran has already done that to a U. S. Strategic drone. Or if the opponent hacked into the drone's network communications and used that for a back door into the intelligence net. it would extremely difficult for G-2 to maintain control over so many individual drones. Our opponents are no less experienced, capable, or inventive than us. If you underestimate or undervalue your opponent, you'll probably lose. Always assume your opponent is smarter and more capable than you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_zero Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 all of your points and concerns is 100% valid. Drones are hot "toys" these days. The demand is only going to grow. Maybe not be as pervasive as cell phones as there are gender differences to take into consideration, but then again it mostly males who fight. Look at what cell phones have been modified to do. Drones are a poor mans Luftwaffe 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMac Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, db_zero said: Is there any plans to implement squad level tactical drones? I recently picked up a DJI drone and I'm blown away. HD camera that is gimble mounted. Stabilization, auto hover and other features. You can link to your smartphone, tablet or VR goggles. You can even control it with your hands and program it to follow you and do other things. The military already uses squad level drones and the tactical applications are obvious. Think of it like mortars are/ when they were referred to as your own personal artillery...now even the smallest element can have they own drones on immediate call. The drones modeled in CM are of a different type. What I'm referring to is something that can be carried and operated by 1 person and available and attached to squads. I'm hooked. I now have a squadron of these things. You can get small cheap ones that have HD cameras. They may not have a gimble for the camera, but auto hover and stabilization are included in many. Its only as matter of time before even the cheap ones have a gimble for the camera and 4K capability. Some of my drones are smaller than my hand. No camera or ability to link to smartphone/tablet or VR glasses...yet.... I remember reading somewhere that the U.S. is fielding a small hand-held Drone per Platoon. Edited October 7, 2018 by JoMc67 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 This is also 2008 not 2018. Just a reminder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_zero Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 Just thinking about future expansions...or you can move this to Black Sea :) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackTactical34 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 22 minutes ago, sburke said: This is also 2008 not 2018. Just a reminder This does come to mind though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-1_Predator 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 40 minutes ago, ZackTactical34 said: This does come to mind though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-1_Predator Steve did discuss this not too long ago. The predator was more a theater asset so not something the player in a tactical situation would have. There are however drones in CMSF. One could create a ToE and try to simulate something like what was suggested but the actual deployment of them would not be at a squad level particularly in 2008. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 1 hour ago, sburke said: There are however drones in CMSF. Huh? Since when? Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 47 minutes ago, Mord said: Huh? Since when? Mord. oops Should have been in the ToE on the store page. I'll remind Steve. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 4 minutes ago, sburke said: oops Should have been in the ToE on the store page. I'll remind Steve. Actually he did mention it. I forgot, then remembered. LOL So much crap gets said, so many points get argued and so much time has passed, it's hard to keep it all straight. "Drones were just starting to be used at our scale back in 2008 (full production of the Raven started in 2006). They were mostly being used by Brigade level assets up until that point. At the time we erred on the side of caution about production and introduction. Looking back, for our timeframe the Raven should be available to the US side. The other forces were slower to adopt. The Brits had a handful in 2007 so we might do them as well, but the other NATO countries got them after our timeframe. " Steve Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMolestCats Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 As of right now we are still using ravens at the company level even then on my current deployment i haven't even seen the ODA teams use drones in that small of scale. All of our info on the ground is run by ISR. Plus carrying that stuff sucks.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701e Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 I remember asking the drones question for CMSF2 to Steve some time ago. Steve's answer is here: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) 19 minutes ago, ncc1701e said: I remember asking the drones question for CMSF2 to Steve some time ago. Steve's answer is here. HA! My quote above is newer. He changed his mind. See what I wrote above or check here, page 4 and rejoice. Mord. Edited October 7, 2018 by Mord 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701e Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Mord said: HA! My quote above is newer. He changed his mind. See what I wrote above or check here, page 4 and rejoice. No, I do not think so. Please check the few screenshots of the interface that we have from the game. There is no room for drones like what we have in CMBS, just artillery and air support. Edited October 7, 2018 by ncc1701e 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701e Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Same in this video: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_zero Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 Don't know what the stuff being used in the field is like, but in the civilian sector the drone tech is rapidly expanding and moving forward. The Mavic Pro drone weighs 1.6 pounds. The removable batteries and remote are small and weigh next to nothing. The drone has folding propellers and easily fits into a cargo pocket. Flight time is 27 minutes under good conditions. 40 mph speed, 16,000 ceiling, 8 mile range. Video feed is up to 1080p and video recording is 4K. I can fit all I need into a small 9x7 inch case. That includes 2 batteries. Less than 5 pounds. Carry 4 batteries and you have over an hour flight time. I also have a tenergy universal smart charger that could easily recharge the 4 drone batteries that weights less than 1lb Some drones allow you to program in a flight path. It would not be difficult to add a port to the drone itself to be able to string out micro cable to control the drone. This would make it very difficult to jam or hack into. It wont be long before we see thermal imaging or something similar on civilian drone. Fully autonomous drones are already in existence and used for things like light shows. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequoia Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 I think Sburkes post confirms what Mord had found. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Wheeeew, almost an NDA violation there @sburke 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 11 minutes ago, IanL said: Wheeeew, almost an NDA violation there @sburke Damn that was close. I thought I could hear Steve pulling out the strap for my whupping. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, ncc1701e said: No, I do not think so. Please check the few screenshots of the interface that we have from the game. There is no room for drones like what we have in CMBS, just artillery and air support. This is one of the reasons Steve doesn't like posting much during BETA. People read too much into it not thinking through that all is subject to change. Instead they start picking it apart making assumptions which is totally normal, what else do you do while ya wait? However it is counter productive. This is one of the reasons I think folks liked Chris' twitch broadcast so much. He would discuss some details and there was some back and forth. (besides just be funny, he always had a good sense of humor playing live in front of an audience) That is labor intensive time though. Edited October 7, 2018 by sburke 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701e Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) 50 minutes ago, sburke said: what else do you do while ya wait? I have bought CMBN big bundle and I am enjoying it so far, and you? And, I have discovered a bug by accident when I have ordered the CD and paper manual on the brand new web site. About the drones, if they are in CMSF2, this is good news since this is one of the thing I was expecting. Now, like Saint Thomas, I will wait to see. Best is to not expect it to have a good surprise at the end. Edited October 7, 2018 by ncc1701e 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vet 0369 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 19 hours ago, db_zero said: Is there any plans to implement squad level tactical drones? I recently picked up a DJI drone and I'm blown away. HD camera that is gimble mounted. Stabilization, auto hover and other features. You can link to your smartphone, tablet or VR goggles. You can even control it with your hands and program it to follow you and do other things. The military already uses squad level drones and the tactical applications are obvious. Think of it like mortars are/ when they were referred to as your own personal artillery...now even the smallest element can have they own drones on immediate call. The drones modeled in CM are of a different type. What I'm referring to is something that can be carried and operated by 1 person and available and attached to squads. I'm hooked. I now have a squadron of these things. You can get small cheap ones that have HD cameras. They may not have a gimble for the camera, but auto hover and stabilization are included in many. Its only as matter of time before even the cheap ones have a gimble for the camera and 4K capability. Some of my drones are smaller than my hand. No camera or ability to link to smartphone/tablet or VR glasses...yet.... Off-topic question, but if you are in the U.S., have you registered your drones with the Federal Aviation Administration? The job from which I retired was as a Policy and Regulatory Writer in Aircraft Certification. Our Directorates worked for about 5 years to hammer out regulations for manufacturing, testing, and using drones. The registration is needed because of the well-founded concern of airport incursions, sporting events, media events, privacy concerns, and etc. Hint: Say yes 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vet 0369 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 3 hours ago, db_zero said: Flight time is 27 minutes under good conditions. 40 mph speed, 16,000 ceiling, 8 mile range. Again, I don't know where you call home, but U.S. FAA regulations restrict civilian drones to an Above Ground Level (AGL) ceiling of less than 500 feet AGL (500 feet AGL is the minimum operating altitude for civilian aircraft, and requires special permission from Flight Standards to go below it). That is supposed to be hard wired in the programming, but some individuals have found a way around it. Usually the same idiots that think it's funny to shine a laser pointer through the windscreen of an aircraft. If the manufacturer doesn't program in the hard point, or provides instruction for exceeding the hard point, that manufacturer could be in BIG trouble if selling in the U.S. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_zero Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) Yes you have to register when you activate and the software that controls the drone warns you if your in a restricted area. If you're near an airport the software won't even let you fly the drone. Even though the ceiling is 16,000 feet my understanding on my local laws says no more than 400 feet. You must also keep the drone in your LOS at all times. You also have to respect no fly zones. There are apps you can download to your phone that tell you where you can fly and if you're in a no fly or restricted zone. I'm looking into getting FAA certified for drones. The smaller drones don't require FAA certification and pretty much plug and play. If you are interested in drones I would highly suggest you get the cheap ones at stores like Target and learn how to fly first. Even though the fancy ones come with all sorts of fancy features to help you fly, its best to know how to control your drone without all the fancy stuff cause you never know what can happen. Many chat rooms have frantic pleas for help...people have lost expensive drones that flew off. When asked what there level of experience is many say just beginning. Its hard to feel sorry for someone who lost a $1000 drone when they bought it and took it out immediately to try it out. Some people don't even bother to take the time to learn about their drone. There is the manual as well as YouTube where you can learn from more experienced operators. When I got my DJI it just sat doing nothing for a while till I got proficient in flying the cheap smaller ones. Even now I'm very cautious. Even though I'm very proficient with the smaller less expensive drones I'm very conservative. I used to fly gliders had things like tow ropes break on me. You don't screw around in the air. Edited October 7, 2018 by db_zero 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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