Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkey. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Raytheon Co., (Missile Systems) For The Procurement of 485 AIM-9X Block II For U.S. Military And Other Countries

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Raytheon Co., (Missile Systems)  For The Procurement of  485 AIM-9X Block II For U.S. Military And Other Countries
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-120-14 June 25, 2014
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 25, 2014: Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is being awarded a $223,081,894 fixed-price-incentive-firm contract for the procurement of 485 AIM-9X Block II All Up Round Tactical Low Rate Initial Production Lot 14.

Missiles for the U.S. Navy (161), U.S. Air Force (158), and the governments of Singapore (20), the Netherlands (28), Kuwait (1), and Turkey (117). In addition, this contract provides for the procurement of 132 Block II Captive Air Training Missiles for the U.S. Navy (47), U.S. Air Force (55), and the governments of the Netherlands (20), Singapore (8), and Morocco (2); 27 Special Air Training Missiles for the U.S. Navy (13), U.S. Air Force (12), and the government of the Netherlands (2); 180 All Up Round Containers for the U.S. Navy (59), U.S. Air Force (60), and the governments of the Netherlands (18), Morocco (1), Singapore (8), and Turkey (34); two Spare Advanced Optical Target Detectors for the governments of Singapore (1), and Morocco (1); 10 Spare Tactical Guidance Units for the governments of the Netherlands (2), Singapore (2), and Turkey (6); and seven Spare Captive Air Training Missile Guidance Units for the governments of the Netherlands (2), and Singapore (5). Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (43.74 percent); Andover, Massachusetts (10.08 percent); Valencia, California (6.10 percent); Midland, Ontario, Canada (5.54 percent); Rocket Center, West Virginia (5.49 percent); Vancouver, Washington (5.07 percent); Goleta, California (2.86 percent); Cheshire, Connecticut (2.05 percent); Heilbronn, DE, Germany (1.88 percent); Simsbury, Connecticut (1.61 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (1.22 percent); San Jose, California (1.48 percent); Anniston, Alabama (1.31 percent); Maniago, Italy (1.21 percent); Chatsworth, California (1.11 percent); San Diego, California (1.04 percent); Montgomery, Alabama (.60 percent); Orlando, Florida (.55 percent); Valencia, California (.53 percent); Newbury Park, California (.50 percent); El Segundo, California (.50 percent); Claremont, California (.43 percent); Joplin, Missouri (.39 percent); Lombard, Illinois (.28 percent); El Cajon, California (.15 percent); and various locations inside and outside the continental United States (3.98 and .30 percent, respectively). Work is expected to be completed in December 2016. 

Fiscal 2014 weapons procurement (Navy) and missile procurement (Air Force), as well as foreign military funds in the amount of $223,081,894 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. 

This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($74,071,450; 33.20 percent); U.S. Air Force ($74,148,758; 33.24 percent); and the governments of Turkey ($46,902,085; 21.03 percent); the Netherlands ($16,471,972: 7.38 percent); Singapore ($10,574,904: 4.74 percent); Morocco ($522,442; .23 percent); and Kuwait ($390,283; .18 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. 

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0053).

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources + U.S. DoD issued No. CR-120-14 June 25, 2014
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Monday, June 24, 2013

DTN News - SYRIA UNREST AL-QAEDA CONNECTION: Turkish Allies Flying 'New al-Qaeda' Fighters To Syria With U.S. Support - Report

Defense News: DTN News -  SYRIA UNREST AL-QAEDA CONNECTION: Turkish Allies Flying 'New al-Qaeda' Fighters To Syria With U.S. Support - Report
*"A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup ofTurkey... and a number of western states, [e]specially the US..."
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Timothy Whiteman - Examiner.com
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 24, 2013: Our NATO partner's and long considered one of our closest allies in the Muslim world, the Turks are now reportedly using their national airlines to ferry al-Qaeda terrorists to fight with the rebels in the Syrian Civil War, all with the support and approval of both the American and British governments, as reported by the London-based Muslim news portal Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA) on June 22, 2013.
The Turkish Connection...
Cited only as a military source speaking on the grounds of anonymity, the source accused the Turkish intelligence agency of sending 93 al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from their training camps in Pakistan's lawless Waziristan province to the Turkish province of Hatay on the Turkish-Syrian coastal border.
Previous reports by ABNA have cited Turkey's national airline, Turkish Air, of transporting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria.
According to the covert source, all 93 terrorists were passengers on the Karachi-Istanbul flight route, Turkish Air No. 709 on September 10, 2012.
Reportedly, all those transported were originally from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs already residing in Waziristan.
The Iraq Connection...
The anonymous source stated that over 65 percent of the Salafi fighting with the Syrian rebels in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor are Afghans who have sworn allegiance to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
The unidentified source contends that these specific soon-to-be American equipped al-Qaeda fighters entered the eastern Syrian province via Iraq only after completing al-Qaeda training in Iraq.
The Obama Administration Connection...
ABNA reports that with Turkey, the U.S. and various Persian Gulf nations backing them, al-Qaeda has set up a new training camp for Salafi (radical Islamic fundamentalists) and Jihadi (Islamist global domination) terrorists in Northern Waziristan.
"A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, [e]specially the US," a source told the Fars News Agency of Iran (FNA) last September.
ABNA quotes FNA's Ali Mahdian that the US and the British governments have been "playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria."
He went on to state that the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as go-betweens to "facilitate the CIA and (British) MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans."
Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, "because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future."
"Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument," he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.
As previously covered by Examiner.com, the Obama Administration has authorized the transfer of American arms and ammunition to the various Syrian rebel groups, to include the largest, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra li-Ahl al-Sham (The Front for the Protection of the Syrian People), also popularly known as the al-Nusra Front.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Timothy Whiteman - Examiner.com
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Friday, June 21, 2013

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Boeing Amounting To $ 4.9 Billion For CH-47F Cargo Helicopters Related To U. S. Army And Foreign Military Sales For Turkey And UAE

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To Boeing Amounting To $ 4.9 Billion For CH-47F Cargo Helicopters Related To U. S. Army, Foreign Military Sales For Turkey And UAE
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources DTN News & U.S. DoD issued No.  440-13 June 17, 2013
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 21, 2013:  The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Penn., was awarded a firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract with a maximum base value of $3,414,000,002 for the production of remanufactured and new-build CH-47F cargo helicopters. 


 A portion of this contract is in support of foreign military sales for Turkey and United Arab Emirates.  

The total of the contract if all options are exercised will be $4,983,900,022.  The estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2020.  

A combination of fiscal 2011, fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2013 Procurement funds in the amount of $1,316,639,035 are being obligated on this award.  

One bid was solicited, with one bid received.  The Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-13-C-0002). 

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources DTN News & U.S. DoD issued No.  440-13 June 17, 2013
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Sunday, June 9, 2013

DTN News: Turkey Top Stories / Headlines News Dated June 9, 2013

Defense News: DTN News: Turkey Top Stories / Headlines News Dated June 9, 2013
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 9, 2013: Comprehensive daily news related to Turkey for the world of TODAY.
*Comprehensive daily news related to Turkey Top Stories / Headlines News for the world of  TODAY

Turkey News - updated By DTN News

PATIENCE HAS LIMITS, TURKISH PM WARNS

The Age - ‎9 minutes ago‎
The government case: Supporters of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wait to see him on Sunday in Ankara. Photo: AFP/ADEM ALTAN. Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought his supporters on to the streets as he staged ...

TURKEY'S PM CALLS PROTESTERS 'A HANDFUL OF LOOTERS'

Fox News - ‎11 minutes ago‎
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's prime minister remained defiant on Sunday after 10 days of anti-government protests, traveling to two cities where unrest has occurred and condemning the demonstrators as "a handful of looters." In the southern city of Adana, ...

ERDOGAN'S WARNING TO TURKISH PROTESTERS

The Australian - ‎32 minutes ago‎
TURKEY'S defiant Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told supporters his patience "has a limit", as police fired tear gas and jets of water at demonstrators in unrelenting protests against his government's decade-long rule. As tens of thousands held ...

TENS OF THOUSANDS ON STREETS, ERDOGAN DEFIANT

Business Recorder (blog) - ‎55 minutes ago‎
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rallied his supporters in a string of defiant speeches on Sunday as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators massed in Istanbul's central Taksim Square. Speaking in the southern Mediterranean coastal city of ...

TENS OF THOUSANDS ON STREETS, TURKISH PM ERDOGAN DEFIANT

Toronto Sun - ‎1 hour ago‎
ISTANBUL/ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told flag-waving supporters on Sunday that his patience with mass anti-government protests had its limits, and moved to seize back the initiative by announcing counter-rallies next weekend.

FOR A PARK AND A FEW TREES

Indian Express - ‎1 hour ago‎
In J.R.R Tolkien's Middle Earth, Ents are tree-like creatures, known for their patience. However, when their leader Treebeard finds out that the wicked wizard Saruman felled thousands of trees, he leads a horde of his race to destroy the wizard's stronghold in ...

TURKISH PROTESTERS SAY THEY FIGHT PM'S STRICT ISLAMIC VIEWS

CBS News - ‎1 hour ago‎
(CBS News) ISTANBUL - Turkey's prime minister said Sunday his country's financial markets are under attack. Tayyip Erdogan blamed speculators reacting to a tenth day of fierce nationwide protests against his government. In the Turkish capital, Ankara, ...

ERDOGAN SAYS PATIENCE HAS LIMIT AS TURKISH PROTESTS CONTINUE

Indian Express - ‎1 hour ago‎
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a rally of thousands flag-waving supporters on Sunday that his patience with anti-government protests had its limits, while tens of thousands flooded an Istanbul square demanding his resignation. At Ankara airport ...

TURKEY'S LEADER LAMBASTS PROTESTERS

Philippine Star - ‎1 hour ago‎
ANKARA — In a series of increasingly belligerent speeches to cheering supporters yesterday, Turkey's prime minister demanded an end to the 10-day anti-government protests that have spread across the country, saying those who do not respect the ...

ERDOGAN'S CRACKDOWN COULD DRIVE AWAY ECONOMY'S SAVIORS

Bloomberg - ‎1 hour ago‎
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to Turkey last week little chastened by the protesters occupying the central squares of cities around the country. Judging by his demand that the “vandalism and utter lawlessness” end immediately, he may yet ...

ERDOGAN 'LOSING PATIENCE' WITH PROTESTS

Voice of America - ‎1 hour ago‎
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told thousands of his supporters that he has limited patience with the anti-government protests, now in their 10th day. Erdogan delivered several speeches Sunday, demanding that the protesters give up.

TURKISH PM ERDOGAN RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE WITH PROTESTERS

ABC Online - ‎1 hour ago‎
Turkey's defiant prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told supporters his patience with anti-government protests is running out. Mr Erdogan's comments in front of cheering supporters in Ankara came as police fired tear gas and jets of water at ...

TURKISH PM BRANDS PROTESTERS VANDALS AND LOOTERS

The Daily Star - ‎2 hours ago‎
ANKARA: In a series of increasingly belligerent speeches to cheering supporters Sunday, Turkey's prime minister launched a verbal attack on the tens of thousands of anti-government protesters who flooded the streets for a 10th day, accusing them of ...

TURKEY PM VOWS TO TEACH PROTESTERS A LESSON IN POLLS

Times of India - ‎2 hours ago‎
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged supporters of his Islamic-rooted party to use next year's local elections to "teach a lesson" to the anti-government demonstrators whose mass protests have rocked the country. "There are just seven months ...

BEYOND THE SYCAMORE TREES: WHAT THE TURKEY PROTESTS REALLY REPRESENT

Forbes - ‎2 hours ago‎
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JUNE 06: Protestors hug at Gezi Park in Taksim Square on June 6, 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey. The protests began initially over the fate of Taksim Gezi Park, one of the last significant green spaces in the center of the city.

TURKISH PM BLASTS DEFIANT YOUTH

ABC Online - ‎2 hours ago‎
Turkey's prime minister has launched into a series of fiery speeches, attacking protesters who've packed Istanbul's Taksim Square. The demonstration was the largest gathering in more than a week since a small protest against the redevelopment of a park in ...

ERDOGAN RALLIES SUPPORTERS IN TURKEY

Financial Times - ‎2 hours ago‎
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, has sought to fight back against the demonstrations that have shaken his country, rallying his supporters in a series of speeches on Sunday ahead of a bigger show of force in days to come. In a sign that the ...

TURKEY'S ERDOGAN VOWS TO 'CHOKE' FINANCIAL SPECULATORS

Reuters - ‎2 hours ago‎
By Jonathon Burch. ANKARA | Sun Jun 9, 2013 4:59pm EDT. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Sunday to "choke" financial market speculators who he said were growing rich off "the sweat of the people", and urged Turks ...

IN DEFENCE OF ERDOGAN

The Sun Daily - ‎2 hours ago‎
WESTERN politicians and media have been scolding Turkey's prime minister Recep Erdogan over anti-government demonstrations in Istanbul and Ankara. What began as a local protest over the foolish plan to raze trees in Gezi Park near Istanbul's bustling ...

TURKEY PM VOWS TO BEAT 'LOOTERS' AND SAYS HE WILL NOT BACK DOWN DURING DEFIANT ...

Daily Mail - ‎2 hours ago‎
Turkey's defiant prime minister gave a speech from the top of a bus today making it clear he has no intention of backing down in the face of 10 days of anti-government protesters. Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again condemned his opponents as 'looters'.

TURKISH PM CALLS FOR PRO-GOVERNMENT RALLIES

Aljazeera.com - ‎3 hours ago‎
Thousands welcome Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he returns to the capital, while police use water cannon against protesters. Last Modified: 09 Jun 2013 21:10. Email Article. Print Article. Share article. Send Feedback. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ...

NO PICNIC FOR TURKEY'S LADY IN RED

New Zealand Herald - ‎3 hours ago‎
The image of Turkish police tear-gassing Ceyda Sungur in Taksim Square has gone viral. Photo / Reuters. With her red cotton dress, white shoulder bag and flowing black hair, she has become the colour-coded emblem of Turkey's new people-power ...

TURKEY'S ERDOGAN TO PROTESTERS: 'EVEN PATIENCE HAS AN END'

CNN - ‎3 hours ago‎
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed protesters Sunday, the tenth day of demonstrations against his government, warning that "even patience has an end." He gave a series of speeches to supporters in the nation's ...

TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY IN TURKEY

Huffington Post - ‎3 hours ago‎
In a country divided between east and west, a park in the center of Istanbul has sparked what activists are calling "Taksim Solidarity," others the "Turkish Spring." The reality is that the events in Turkey are neither. The conquest of Taksim Square on June 1 was ...

POLICE TEAR GAS THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS IN ANKARA

Hindustan Times - ‎3 hours ago‎
Police in the Turkish capital Ankara used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of demonstrators on the 10th day of nationwide protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government. At least two people were injured in ...

TURKEY PM ERDOGAN WARNS PROTESTERS OF 'LIMITED PATIENCE'

BBC News - ‎3 hours ago‎
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned his patience "has a limit" as anti-government protests continued for a 10th day. Mr Erdogan dismissed the protesters as "looters", in a defiant address to supporters in the capital, Ankara. Thousands of...

TURKISH PREMIER DEFIANT, AS STREET PROTESTS PERSIST

Wall Street Journal - ‎3 hours ago‎
ISTANBUL—Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied his supporters on Sunday in a string of defiant speeches designed to showcase his popularity and quell two weeks of unrest, as tens of thousands of antigovernment demonstrators massed in ...

TURKEY'S LEADER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN DEFIANT AS PROTESTS ENTER TENTH DAY

Herald Sun - ‎4 hours ago‎
Turkish PM slams protesters for their attitude. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan slams protesters for their behavior as thousands of people gather in Ankara to show him support. Deborah Lutterbeck reports. TURKEY'S defiant Prime Minister Recep ...

TURKEY: PM ERDOGAN HITS BACK AT PROTESTERS

Sky News - ‎4 hours ago‎
Tayyip Erdogan brushes off protests over his rule and tells those rallying against him his patience will eventually run out. 8:35pm UK, Sunday 09 June 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves to supporters on arrival in Ankara. Turkey PM ...

TURKEY PM RALLIES SUPPORTERS IN UNREST

Sky News Australia - ‎4 hours ago‎
Updated: 06:21, Monday June 10, 2013. Turkey PM rallies supporters in unrest. Turkey's defiant Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rallied supporters after riot police clashed with thousands of angry anti-government protesters in a second week of civil ...
*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources 
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Monday, January 7, 2013

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Booming Business of Drones

Defense News: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Booming Business of Drones
*Drones are everywhere.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Mitch Joel - Harvard Business Review
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 6, 2013: Less than a decade ago, the Pentagon had about fifty unmanned combat air vehicles (known as drones or UAV — unmanned aerial vehicles). It is estimated that they currently have about seven thousand of them (and Congress asked for about $5 billion worth of more drones in 2012). There's a scene in Showtime's hit television series, Homeland, where Nicholas Brody (the former prisoner of war and current United States congressman) is told by David Estes (the director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center) that the use of drones in the war on terrorism has moved from forty unmanned combat air vehicles to nearly four thousand in no time at all. 

While that was a fictitious scene, it was the type of statement that would make anybody raise an eyebrow. What makes it all that more interesting, is that those fictional numbers aren't even close to the staggering reality of how many drones are in operation. And, that's just the work being done by the United States. The International Institute for Strategic Studies has identified fifty six different types of drones being used in over ten countries (and this data does not include places like China, Turkey and Russia).

Now, drones are moving from the battlefield to your neighborhood, and it's about to create a brand new industry right along with it.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the use of commercial drones in United States airspace could become official starting in 2015. As the New York Times wrote in a December 25 editorial: "The drone go-ahead, signed in February by President Obama in the F.A.A. reauthorization law, envisions a $5 billion-plus industry of camera drones being used for all sorts of purposes from real estate advertising to crop dusting to environmental monitoring and police work." But this is just the beginning — industry analysts predict the market to double in less than a decade.
The business and civilian adoption of military technology is nothing new; we had mass adoption of the wristwatch after World War I when soldiers began attaching their pocket watches to their wrists for more practical purposes. A lot of the work and innovation coming out of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is created for military usage, but then becomes commercialized for business application (this includes computer networking and the first hypertext system, which was an early form of the graphical user interface). With so many products that begin as something specialized for the military and then turned over to us every day citizens, it's becoming apparent that drones are on the verge of something big.

So what could a drone-based business look like?

Chris Anderson is the former editor-in-chief at Wired along with being a three-time bestselling business book author (The Long Tail, Free and Makers). He recently left his post at Wired to work on his own passion project-(DIY Drones)-turned-startup (3D Robotics), which recently raised five million dollars in venture funding. He was thinking about drones being used commercially roughly half a decade before the FAA woke up to it. In a 2009 blog post, you can feel the nascent thinking about just how powerful a drone-based network could be for businesses in the not-too-distant future. Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, then wanted drone usage in his business as quickly as possible. From the post: 

"Unmanned cargo freighters have lots of advantages for FedEx: safer, cheaper, and much larger capacity. The ideal form is the 'blended wing.' That design doesn't make a clear a distinction between wings and body, so almost all the interior of both can be used for cargo. The result is that the price premium for air over sea would fall from 10x to 2X (with all the speed advantages of air)."

The post goes on: "the key thing is having NO people on board, not even as backup. A single person in the craft requires a completely different design, along with radically different economics and logistics. The efficiencies come with 100% robotic operation."

Today, years later, Anderson still doesn't think we're there, just yet. He's currently selling a $500 drone that is a small and light aircraft that is only usable in non-urbanized zones and must follow specific laws to not interfere with FAA authority (which includes carrying payloads and other uses that are currently illegal).

Will the rise of commercial drones — yet more automation — resultant loss of jobs? It's too early to tell, but it's important to remember that we will require a significant labor force to design, program, maintain and organize this type of business. Drone usage at the domestic work level is going to create a significant number of jobs where both the talent and title doesn't even exist today. Imagine the hybrid of aviation, logistics, technology, supply chain management and more that will be required to be an effective employee in the near-future for the drone industry. Will that amount of new labor be able to fully offset those who currently have jobs that can be replaced by drones? It depends on several unknown factors at this moment in time, but change is coming. Increasingly, the stuff we see in science fiction and comic books, becomes a business reality. Fast.

This isn't just about building a better FedEx. The fact remains, that with all of the privacy, legal, and FAA hurdles that will have to be overcome, this is the dawn of a new industry. As Anderson has already stated on countless occasions: the advanced technology that encapsulates a smartphone (GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes and simple-to-use software and interfaces mixed with sophisticated and light hardware) means that cheap solutions to unmanned air vehicles are a certainty.

Once drones are being used in domestic settings beyond a few niche sectors and wealthy hobbyists — and citizens feel like their privacy is not being breached — it's not hard to imagine businesses and marketers coming up with new and inventive ways to use drones to better commercialize their businesses.

Currently, Geologists like Jan Grygar are using drones to take high-definition photographs, while Simon Jardine and his business, Eye In The Sky, are using drones to sell aerial photography. Interestingly, both Grygar and Jardine have also started companies to manufacture and sell drones to other businesses. "The analogy is closer to the PC coming after the mainframe," Anderson concedes. "Which is to say, that these are not the most powerful drones in the world, but they will be the cheapest and they will be the ones available to regular people. Fundamentally, those people are going to find new applications for the platform that the traditional industries never thought of."

Now, we're beginning to see uses for drones in agriculture, 3D modeling, security (like saving rhinos in South Africa), environmental analysis, news reporting, filming, human rights monitoring and more. Just imagine what will be as more venture capital, entrepreneurs, inventors and every day people start exploring the new business opportunities that drones will create.

I, for one, welcome our new drone overlords.

Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Mitch Joel - Harvard Business Review
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS