Can you buy a military drone? What you must know


When it comes to purchasing drones, it is important to know which ones are legal to fly and which ones are available to the general public.

Military drones are not available to the general public. These drones are incredibly expensive, costing around a million dollars each, and many of them have weapons as well. Some drones are available to people that are similar to military drones, such as the DJI Mavic 2 PRO Drone Quadcopter.

It’s important to know what drones are available to the general public and what regulations are put in place for civilians. Let’s talk about what you need to know to fly drones, as well as some of the top models of drones that can be used by the military, commercial companies, and civilians.

Military Drones

Predator C Avenger

Predator C Avenger is one of the latest in a line of Avenger drones. This drone has a wingspan of seventy-six feet and a flight time of up to twenty hours of endurance. The weight of the weapons on the wings and belly of this drone can weigh around three thousand pounds. This drone was built for surveillance of large areas, striking missions that occur both over land and sea, and so many other things that go into making a military drone a killer in the sky.

It is an entirely unmanned aircraft and is controlled from the ground. Along with this, Predator C Avenger can penetrate adversary aerial signals without risking the lives of others. The cost of flying and maintaining this drone is lower than in previous models, which makes it more cost-effective and easier to put into the sky for longer periods of time (if necessary).

Predator B (MQ-9 Reaper) 

This particular drone is not only commissioned for the U.S. but also the Royal Army, Italian forces, as well as French and Spanish air forces. It’s internationally popular! Because it is in many different countries, it adheres to all of the guidelines for aircraft to fly in air space designated by NATO.

As with Predator C Avenger, it can reach altitudes of fifty thousand feet and carry payloads over three thousand pounds. This drone can fly up to twenty-seven hours and has a speed over 240 kilometers, or 149.12 miles. Not only can this drone carry things on the outside, but also can carry weapons and loads inside.

Because this drone is built for various armies/militaries, this drone can carry bombs and missiles. It is great for both the day and night use, as it has infrared signals as well as color-light signals.

This drone is great for an array of different missions: close air support, combat search and rescue, route clearance, and air guidance.

Commercial Drones

DJI Mavic 2 PRO Drone Quadcopter

As stated in the category, this drone is normally used for commercial purposes such as shooting footage for companies that need aerial footage such as photos or videos for marketing. The slogan for this company is, “See The Bigger Picture.”

The camera on this drone can swivel in any direction, virtually three hundred and sixty degrees, so capture every angle for the perfect picture or video. Made in Sweden, this drone has a flight time of thirty-one minutes. What is nice about having a long flight time is the ability to be able to get close to people and animals within a safe distance.

With the autofocus lens, people, objects, or animals appear sharper and clearer with no need to adjust it from afar with a handheld device. Alongside this feature, the Super Resolution feature will take nine pictures and patch together each one in a forty-eight-megapixel super resolution photo. This drone is remarkable in its ability to create photos and videos with the resolution as if being in the picture.

PHANTOM 4 RTK

Unlike the DJI Mavic 2 PRO Drone Quadcopter, this drone is, particularly for mapping purposes. This drone accurately determines the data in centimeters needed to determine the area’s length, width, and depth. The data appears in real-time as the drone flies over the designated area.

The drone comes with its own mapping app within the handheld control system, in which you put in the coordinates needed to determine the measurements necessary for a building. Other apps can be added to the control system for those who are more familiar with DJI drones.

It can go as quickly as twenty miles an hour and has a flight time of thirty minutes. Because of the weight and equipment needed to take data into and transfer to the controller, it will have a shorter fly period. This is revolutionary technology is amazing in making the building of things quicker and simpler when not having to measure by hand.

Recreational Drones

DJI Mini 2

Unlike the commercial drones from DJI, this drone is much easier to fly for experienced fliers because of its size. This drone weighs a measly two hundred forty-nine grams or just a little over half a pound. Because it is much smaller, any wind gust will easily affect this drone and ground it.

It doesn’t have collision-avoidance sensors like the larger drones do, which makes it lighter and easier to fly for experienced fliers. But it still has fun additions such as a 4K video resolution camera. There is no need to get close to any area because the camera has a zooming lens as well; clear enough as if you are still there taking the picture in real-time. It is small and makes it even lighter than any smartphone. The size helps it to last for up to thirty-one minutes of flight time.

The overall size and needs of this drone make it unnecessary to register it with the Federal Aviation Administration. It also happens to be one of the more affordable drones on the market.

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

Most recreational drones only involve cameras because of their need for either surveillance or enjoyment purposes. With up to thirty-one minutes of flight time, over forty miles an hour, 8GB of internal storage, and the place for an SD card of up to 128GB. It comes with obstacle sensors, minimal noise designs, and of course an amazing camera.

This drone is all about the camera. The Dolly Zoom is perfect for being able to zoom in and out without having to even be there, and an HDR camera for clear pictures and video in high quality. The hyper-lapse technology creates a seamless video with no shutter clicks or streaks.

It depends on which state or country whether you need to register this particular drone with a permit. Because it is designated specifically for recreational purposes and not be flown for company uses.

History Of Military Drones

The drones we see in the sky today are revolutionized from drones built back in the early nineteenth century. Back then, drones were hot air balloons in the sky used mainly for surveillance purposes, but occasionally carried bombs, especially during the second world war.

Towards the 1950s America began to develop their own unmanned drones to use as spy planes; minimal to no weapons were attached at this time for fear of tipping over the plane and being too heavy. These were controlled by radio and had video footage surveillance attached to gather images and intelligence without unnecessarily risking human lives.

It was incredibly difficult during this time for drones because the men who controlled the radio still had to be within close range to be able to control it and have the camera function properly. It made it easier to have drones in the sky, but still worrisome considering the proximity in which they had to be to control it.

After learning about the Serbian’s technology and ability to spot U.S. forces without ever having to leave their station, the U.S. began to develop technologies that created a drone that could be controlled remotely and the footage could be transmitted through a remote satellite. Radio networks were much slower to process, and transitioning to remote satellite required almost immediate footage to be analyzed.

It became common practice over the years to use drones to assess the land and weapons of assailants to protect human life and understand what needs to be done to eliminate targets according to the analysis of drones and the footage presented to generals and politicians.

Because drones have little to no footprint when flying in the sky, it is easier to send them out without having personnel in the area when surveying an area that is yet to be determined as a threat or may contain weapons of war. Underneath Obama, it was made easier for the U.S. to survey without technically having to be at war with another country.

The need for drones has made it much easier for the military to send in drones to understand hostile territory as well as develop weapons that can be remotely controlled. Drones have become more sleek, lightweight, and easier to develop than ever before.

As technology continues to advance, drones can fly longer, farther, and carry more weight within and outside of the hull. Advancements in drones make it easier for the military to expand its reach and power. Who knows, maybe one day drones will even replace any human to human contact in military warfare!

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