Attached a mini-camera to a model Helicopter and hang a small bomb (hand grenade?) from the bottom. Fly it across the battlefield, hover over a tank/APC/truck/ammo dump/radioshack/office/machine gun nest etc etc. and then drop the bomb. Something that small would be very manouverable and hard to hit.

These would be cheap AND disposable. I figure they could be mass produced for under £50 each, which makes them significantly cheaper that the grenades they are dropping.

Use them for scouting a small attack, (drop grenades on vulverable points) as markers, Droping smoke grenades near threats or targets, or even in an all out offensive. (If each solier had one of these and flew it, (say 200 men) these would make a formidible force and coulde cuase quite significant damage to the enemy before a shot was even fire, save many friendly casualties.

Can anyone see any bad points?

I suppose radio jamming is a problem, as will the large number of radio signals going back and forth, but with digital signal stuff I'm sure you could accomodate thousands of mini helicopters.

Image a line of these 5 deep and a mile wide advancing towards your trench - there would be no-where to go - you would probably have no choice but to surrender immediatly or face certain death.
-- CasaLoco, Jun 14 2001

You have to be pretty good to pilot a helicopter, even a model one, as problems of continually over-correcting yourself is an issue. Another problem is that as a group tries to deploy these devices an enemy could simply throw a conventional grenade at them as they are distracted on the remote task.
-- Aristotle, Jun 14 2001


Not to mention that you could knock it out of the air with a rock. Although a whole fleet of them would be pretty scary, if they didn't all fly into each other.

Someone set up us the helicopter bomb. (Sorry, I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't stop myself)
-- PotatoStew, Jun 14 2001


I think you guys have all overlooked the cost of most weapons - grenades cost £1000+ !!!!!

the idea of these was mainly a more precise weapon which could be used/launched from a mile or so away in advance of a conventional attack.

most of the skill inflying them could be removed with simple electronic (a simple computer chip that tell it to hover unless otherwise told) and radio jamming can be cut through - you could use a microwave ransmitter or something.

As for them being shot down, they would be flow at an altitude to low to be threatened by AA fire but to high to be hit by rocks. Yes you could shoot at them with a rifle - but that is unlikly to be the first thing on your mind when they are above you.

Noise wise - I'm sure noise could be reduced to a mimimum and the supprise attack could be improved by flying them VERY close to the ground until they are 100feet from the target. All the enemy would here would be a quiet humming whic slowly got ouder, and then it would be too late.

I am confident this could be a good weapon and could help elimnate savilion casualties. (You would be able to see EXACTLY what you are about to blow up, rather than the more hap-hazard artiliary barage.)

The biggest benefit of this device is the cost - a fraction of what an artiliary shell costs. (£2000 a time? Does anyone have any figure for this - I'm sure it's higher.)
-- CasaLoco, Jun 14 2001


why stop with model helicopters - use model rockets. Oh no, I'm sorry, there called missiles.

The ideal amunition for your helicopters would be a small, cheap explosive and hundreds of free AOL CDs. The CDs or the bits of them would go everywhere.
-- RobertKidney, Jun 15 2001


The military used remote controlled vehicles extensively in Afghanastan and Iraq, called Predator:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/military_predator.html
-- Bongmaster, Jul 16 2003


Remote control model helicopters for scouting and attack now being developed by the US army.

Another sucess for me!
-- CasaLoco, Feb 12 2004


New Model Army has been baked.

[PotatoStew] All your helicopter bombs are belong us.
-- timbeau, Feb 12 2004


An absolutely brilliant idea, however th problem would come with inserting th cat into enemy territory. We could use the CRCCB deliverer. An unmaned aircraft with a 'bomb bay' to paradrop the CRCCB into enemy territory. We would have created the only terror weapon ever designed to combat terrorism. Brilliant.
-- anon52, Apr 23 2004



random, halfbakery