Aurora's Excalibur VTOL UAV is intended to have fully automated flight systems. It will know its mission and complete without remote operator control. One of those missions could be operating as a tactical strike platform, wielding Hellfire missiles, Viper Strike missiles, and the aforementioned APKWS. Technically, only the flight controls will be automated - an operator will be paying attention to target acquisition (and, one would imagine, target explosition). Still, seeing the words "robot" and "Hellfire" together is a little chilling.

On the bright side, it could also be sent in to recover wounded soldiers, airlifting them out of sticky situations without diverting the attention of a remote pilot. Small special ops teams (like, Delta Force) could even use Excaliburs for fast, light ingress and egress. It's amazing what you can do with hybrid turbine-electric propulsion these days. Small scale tests are planned for late this year. Image by: Aurora.

Firm Building Man-carrying VTOL Drone. [Military.com]

Back in April, we told you about the old record setter, a Global Hawk that flew for more than 30 hours. The Global Hawk still holds the "official" record because QinetiQ, the company that produced the Zephyr, didn't invite the Federation Aeronautique Internationale to the test. Apparently, they're more interested in Department of Defense contracts than earning the FAI seal of approval.

Official or not, the Zephyr's achievement is astonishing. It stayed in the air, operated by autopilot or remotely via satellite, for 82 hours and 37 minutes. It managed such a feat of endurance by combining an ultralight carbon-fiber airframe with highly efficient solar panels and batteries. The solar arrays cover virtually every wing surface, yet are no thicker than paper. During the day, they provide enough power for the Zephyr to fly, plus enough extra to charge the batteries. The lithium-sulfur batteries hold enough juice to keep the Zephyr flying through the night. Ultimately, aircraft based on the Zephyr will be fitted with surveillance equipment and flown at high altitudes to keep a perpetual, unblinking watch over whatever the DoD deems worthy of the attention. Image by: QinetiQ.

QinetiQ's Zephyr UAV flies for three and a half days to set unofficial world record for longest duration unmanned flight. [QineticQ]

All six planes were developed for the U.S. military, and some of them flew major recon and combat missions in the Middle East.

• Lockheed Martin/Boeing DarkStar, a stealthy recon plane.
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• AeroVironment RQ-14A Dragon Eye, a hand-launched camera plane.
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• RQ-2A Pioneer, a recon plane that a number of Iraqi soldiers surrendered to in the first Gulf War, the first time anyone ever surrendered to a robot.
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• General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. MQ-1L Predator A, a recon plane that has fired missiles in combat situations.
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• AAI Corporation Shadow 200, another recon plane. The plane on exhibit is called the Screamin Demon and flew missions in Iraq until 2005.
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• Boeing X-45A Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS), one of two scaled down flight test models. This plane is the first built with the intent of using it in a combat role.
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The Global Hawk fills a role similar to the Cold War classic U2 spy plane, providing surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance at a flight ceiling of 65,000 feet. It doesn't put pilots at risk the way the U2 did, though. It's controlled by ground crews that hang out in two separate bunkers far from the action. At more than 40 feet long, with a 116-foot wingspan, the Global Hawk is one impressive bird. Don't think Sarah Connor hasn't noticed. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force.

Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Sets 33-Hour Flight Endurance Record [Space War]

The conference, called Technology in Wartime (caveat: I'm helping to organize it), will feature a panel of expert roboticists and ethicists dealing with what happens when mobile, autonomous robots become soldiers — and have the potential to malfunction catastrophically. Ronald Arkin from Georgia Tech's mobile robots lab will be speaking, as well as Rutgers techno-ethicist Peter Asaro.

Other panels at the conference will deal with recent government research into cyberterrorism, as well as ways that human rights and civil liberties workers are using sneaky software to aid dissidents in war-torn countries. Featured speakers include computer security hero Bruce Schneier, EFF's legal director Cindy Cohn, e-voting expert and former ACM president Barbara Simons, human rights software crusader Patrick Ball, National Academy of Science's Herb Lin, Danger Room's Noah Shachtman, and sly computer security expert (and Sarah Connor Chronicles hater) Kevin Poulsen.

The conference is open to the public (entrance fee gets you free lunch, a t-shirt, and serves as a donation to nonprofit Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility). Students get in cheap! There's still time to register if you want to come. Technology in Wartime [conference site]