Pilotless aircraft, flown for more than 20,000 hours by Australian troops in Afghanistan over the past three years, may be coming to a highway near you. The company behind the drones, Insitu, has opened its first office outside the USA in Brisbane to service Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
In Houston USA, the company has recently demonstrated its drones for Texas police forces (see video). It’s likely they’ll also be promoting the ‘sky spy’ drones to the Australian Federal Police and state police forces in Australia.
The pilotless devices, with video and camera technology that can zoom in close enough to read a newspaper, can stay in the air for more than 24 hours without refuelling.
They can be launched, controlled and landed by a two-person team, and they don’t need runways to operate from.