Reply With QuoteItalians will be dropping bombs full of pasta from the safety and comfort of a local pizzeria
Italian AF Reapers to be armed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...LEFTTopStoriesWASHINGTON—The Obama administration plans to arm Italy's fleet of Reaper drone aircraft, a move that could open the door for sales of advanced hunter-killer drone technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and others familiar with the matter.
The sale would make Italy the first foreign country besides Britain to fly U.S. drones armed with missiles and laser-guided bombs. U.S. officials said Italy intends initially to deploy the armed drones in Afghanistan.
Lawmakers who question the planned deal say the decision to "weaponize" Italy's unarmed surveillance drones could make it harder for the U.S. to deny similar capabilities to other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, and set back efforts to urge sales limitations on other nations that make sophisticated drones such as Israel.
Advocates say such sales would enable trusted allies to conduct military missions on their own as well as help open markets for U.S. drone manufacturers.
The administration sent a confidential "pre-notification" to congressional panels in April detailing its plan to sell kits to Italy to arm up to six Reaper drones, which are larger, more-powerful versions of Predators
Rest of the story at the link.
Italians will be dropping bombs full of pasta from the safety and comfort of a local pizzeria
seriously...Originally Posted by Justincase
Italians will be dropping bombs full of pasta from the safety and comfort of a local pizzeria
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__...-Rage-Face.png
I think this is going to be a pretty good advantage for ISAF in afghanistan, Italy operates mainly in the WEST and SOUTH of Afghanistan, where a lot of talibans seems to hide amongst the surrounding areas, taking the Mangustas ages to find the mortar teams.
And one base where the predators seem to appear quite often is in the south of Italy, being quite colse to North Africa.
If you're gonna be racist, at least be funny.Italians will be dropping bombs full of pasta from the safety and comfort of a local pizzeria
Never understand why armed drones is such a big deal for the press. After all, missiles are just another payload.
Like there is a difference in spotting a target with recon UAV and blasting it with precise munitions and doing the same with ..OMFG ARMED drone !!. Humans still pull the trigger in both cases.
50 Italians have died in Afghanistan, I'm sure they appreciate you finding their deaths amusing on the ****ing internet was worth the effort.Italians will be dropping bombs full of pasta from the safety and comfort of a local pizzeria
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just to be clear I was not trying to make fun of Italian soldiers that are and were in Afghanistan. It will be a great advantage for the Italian military to have this capability so that soldiers are not dying on the battle field.
you still made an A$$ of yourself....back to topic please
So, Italy operates American made UAVs (Predator & Reaper) and American made Hellfire missiles among other type of munitions. How come they can't arm their UAVs they have brought with missiles/bombs they also have bought, themselves?
italy doesn't operate hellfire missiles...and according to the former minister of defence, the uavs need a software uprgrade to be able to employ weapons, which can be implemented only with us authorisation...
the army has a requirement for around a dozen UAV's, they're probably going for the FALCO, but it won't be armed, just reconnaissance.
It's still a big difference to have a drone that can loiter and observe a large area for a long time and have the capability to have THAT VERY SAME DRONE drop / fire some weapon at any target of opportunity that might present itself. It is a completely different thing altogether to just SEE an enemy. Maybe you won't be able to send in a traditional armed platform in time to hit that target.
Thus: armed Reapers = important additional capability for out Italian friends, good for them.
I would very much like my Germans getting an armed MALE UAS. Would love to see us rent some Eitans after the good experiences with the Heron.
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