The ring wing or annular airfoil is an aircraft design which has been experimented with throughout the history of aviation with some interesting variations. It has served as the inspiration for several paper airplane designs, model airplanes of course, and a variety of children's toys. The capabilities imagined by the French coléoptère engineers of the 1950's and 1960's and the U.S. "flying tank" designers are available today at least in the form of unmanned vehicles (large PDF brochure, 6 minute video download, 1½ minute YT news clip). The technology has also been adapted to become the surfboard tunnel fin and there are underwater UAVs as well.
posted by XMLicious on Aug 28, 2009 - 14 comments

A sanitized look at the use of UAVs 1.9 miles above Sadr City, Iraq. [print version] [more inside]
posted by odinsdream on Nov 9, 2008 - 36 comments

It's an unmanned, flying gun.
posted by socalsamba on Jun 2, 2008 - 55 comments

DARPA has announced the contractors for their "Vulture" UAV system. The plan is to build an aircraft that can stay aloft, uninterrupted, for five years. [more inside]
posted by backseatpilot on Apr 30, 2008 - 28 comments

In the seas and in the air...the minions of our Alien Overlords are preparing the way....via
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on Apr 26, 2008 - 8 comments

The U.S. Military's Assassination Problem: "Software like 'Bugsplat' is supposed to keep decapitation attacks precise. So why do we keep blowing up Iraqi wedding parties?" [more inside]
posted by homunculus on Mar 17, 2008 - 34 comments

DIY Drones "a site for all things about amateur Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)"
posted by Burhanistan on Feb 5, 2008 - 12 comments

Sub $1000 UAV. Wired editor, author and blogger Chris Anderson^[wiki] built a sub $1000 UAV from a model airplane and a Lego mindstorms robotics kit. The drone flies itself, all you do is punch in a direction (and eventually, GPS coordinates). I don't know if it's technically Open Source, but you can definitely download instructions and code.
posted by delmoi on Jun 11, 2007 - 14 comments

We've knelt on the altar of the Predator UAV and paid homage with tax dollars (see related MeFi thread) but the Army (and possibly Hollywood [PDF]) and others want to go smaller and more efficient. With massive budget increases for UAV/MAV technology over the last two years and increased use of UAVs for border surveillance, [PDF] one wonders when the tiniest of cool toys starts becoming a tool for surveillance as the legal arguments for and against will almost certainly heat up. Face it - cool RC toys aren't just for amusing/terrorizing your pets anymore.
posted by TeamBilly on Dec 27, 2005 - 15 comments

One-page history of remote-controlled weapons. Includes some Tesla goodness.
posted by Heywood Mogroot on Dec 15, 2005 - 10 comments

US drone lost over Iraq - It seems it's only a matter of time before they shoot down a piloted plane (even if by accident). What are we still trying to accomplish over there and what would the reaction be if they succeed?
posted by revbrian on Aug 27, 2001 - 15 comments