This British Drone Will Change EVERYTHING - Here is Why!

This is the Jackal drone, and it can do something that has never been seen in the British military before. During live fire testing, it successfully test-fired a missile that can take out tanks, boats, and anything else in between. But that's not all. The Jackal can do something so revolutionary that it will change modern warfare forever. While the Ministry of Defense has been keeping their lips tight on the program, a few details have been released to the public that paint a better picture of the Jackal program. The Jackal drone is a state-of-the-art drone, designed in concert with partner countries to essentially make an air force in a box. But how? The exact weight of the drone itself is unknown, but it has been described as lightweight in press releases by the Royal Air Force. It has a wingspan of 5 meters or 15 feet. It can carry 50 kilograms of weight, and current trials are trying to push that up to 65 kilograms. This conflicts with some reports that suggest the drone can carry just 15 kilograms. However, more weight, no pun intended, should be given to the 50-kilogram figure since that came directly from manufacturer details. But that is not the most interesting bit. When looking at photos of the Jackal, you will see that it is an interesting engineering system. The propulsion system of the drone is electric and has two main ways of generating thrust. The first of these ways is the four twin counter-rotating propellers it uses to take off and land vertically. Once airborne, the Jackal can then use its four wing-mounted electric ducted fan engines to conduct high-speed operations. With an ideal cruising speed of 108 kilometers per hour and a max burst speed of 160 kilometers per hour, this drone is incredibly fast for being as small as it is. With its combination of thrust-generating propulsion systems, the drone can reach a staggering 10,000 feet in altitude and a 130 kilometer range. At the same time, it can hover in place and displace itself when needed. But what good is a Jackal without any teeth? The Jackal's teeth in this case come in the form of two weapon systems. While the Jackal can deploy several glide-bomb type bomblets, the most powerful weapon the Jackal can deliver is the Thales Light Multi-Role Missile, colloquially known as the Martlet. The Martlet is a revolutionary missile and is designed to be a one-size-fits-all missile to be incorporated on a variety of UK platforms. The missile itself weighs 13 kilograms and is just over four meters long. Recent photos from military symposiums show the Jackal has the capability to have at least two Martlet missiles on board. Therefore, the 15-kilogram payload must be incorrect, since those photos show the Jackal being able to carry at least a 26-kilogram payload. Therefore, the 50-kilogram payload is most likely. But getting back to the Martlet missile itself, there are several warhead configurations units can choose from depending on the mission at hand. For example, if the intended target is a tank or armored vehicle, the shaped charge missile could be loaded on board. If the target is a large building or bunker, a high-explosive warhead type could be used. Lastly, if the target is infantry in the open or light-skinned vehicles, special fragmentation warheads could be used to shred these targets. Not only does the Martlet missile have a variety of warheads, but it is also incredibly fast. Though the exact speed remains classified, the published speed is at least 1.5 Mach or around 1,670 feet per second. But despite being incredibly fast, users also have to get very close to the enemy. With a max range of around 6 kilometers, firing units must be close with the enemy and are very susceptible to most types of return fire. However, the Jackal drone brings so much more to the battlefield than just a few missiles. Part of what makes the Jackal a great platform is that it is multi-mission. This means that besides conducting strikes on intended targets, it can also conduct a variety of other mission sets depending on the sensors on board. Though not completely confirmed by the Royal Air Force, it is highly suggested that the Jackal is armed with infrared cameras, thermal cameras, HDTV cameras, and signals collection equipment. This means while stalking the enemy, the Jackal can send footage back all while being undetectable from its low radar cross-section, no thermal signature, and little to no noise. In addition to carrying out intelligence and surveillance functions, the Jackal can be incorporated into a broader air defense or area denial network. Thanks to its secure data link capabilities, like Link 11 or another similar data link, the Jackal can get information from other units beyond its line of sight and can pass the same information on. These data links also help prevent fracticide in highly contested airspaces. However, this is not even the most interesting of its combat system's capabilities. Numerous press reports claim that the Jackal may be the world's first fully autonomous armed drone. This means that an operator can set a flight path, give the drone a mission, and let it do its thing. While these claims are unverified as of the making of this video, if true, would make the drone a truly revolutionary weapon. But how did this drone come about? The first publicly released information about the Jackal drone came out around January 2022. Around this time, the UK company Flyby Technology contacted a Turkish partner called FlyBLVOS Technology. The Brits wanted to collaborate with the Turks to help create an autonomous armed drone that could deal a ton of damage without exposing human operators to danger. During several months of research and development, Flyby Technology sent numerous operator experts to Turkey to provide their input to the Turkish engineering team. After several months of research, the joint Turkish-British team developed a working prototype that achieved its first successful 40-minute flight in April of 2022. As one can remember, around this time, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine had been underway for less than two months. Analysts with the Royal Air Force were very impressed with the design and requested it be brought back to the UK for further testing. After purchasing all the design and production rights from the Turkish team, Flyby Technology immediately began working with the Royal Air Force to further develop the system. By the fall of 2022, the Jackal had fired its first Martlet missile, and in the spring of 2023, another successful test firing ensued. Since 2023, numerous countries have expressed interest in acquiring the drone. Among the most notable is Taiwan, which has already signed a contract for at least 160 drones to be delivered in the upcoming years. Ukraine has also expressed interest in obtaining the drone. Though formal offers have yet to extend gifting the system to Ukraine, Ukrainian air defense units have been employing Martlet missiles as a point air defense weapon since as early as April 2022. Because of that, with the huge amount of drone warfare going on in Ukraine, it is likely that when the Jackal becomes fully operational, Ukraine will receive at least some units. But how would Ukraine employ such a weapon on hotly contested, high-intensity battlefields like Donbass? In this fictional but entirely possible scenario, the intended target is a group of newly refinished T-62 tanks Russia cobbled together from storage parks that are being sent to the front. While decades old, these tanks are still very deadly, given that a tank round from a 50-year-old tank versus a 5-year-old tank would still kill you all the same. Due to the Ukraine's ever-present drone coverage, the Nighttime Watch reports that several Russian tanks are advancing toward a cratered Ukrainian village. These tanks are providing cover for a group of armored personnel carriers containing the watch relief for the Russian platoon in the town. As ground operators salivate over such a juicy target, they immediately radio higher headquarters to relay the information. Thanks to Starlink, the Ukrainian troops in the rear can see the battle space in real-time. That is where our operator comes into play. As the commanders feed the information to the drone unit, the operators are busy programming the flight path into the drone. Due to their constant state of readiness, the Jackal drones remain armed and ready to fly 24-7 at a moment's notice for times like this. As the operator programs the flight path into the drone, Russians continue advancing towards the town. After what seems like an eternity but is actually just a few minutes, the Jackal drone takes off silently into the night and races toward the destroyed town. Due to the intense darkness, the operator switches to the Jackal's thermal camera to see. The Russians, not even attempting to mask the engine exhaust on their vehicles, light up like a Christmas tree. As the Jackal silently stalks its prey, the operator suddenly loses control of the drone. Though Russian vehicles are plain to see, the enemy has moved a new jammer into the area. With its ability to sever the connection between the operator and the Jackal, it would seem that the mission has failed. But the Jackal is unlike other drones. Normally, if this were to happen, a drone might either return to its operator, hover until it ran out of battery, fall out of the sky, or sometimes go towards the enemy to be captured. But because the drone is autonomous and has a pre-programmed mission, despite the jamming attack, it continues on its mission toward the town using pre-set waypoints and a built-in library of what to look for. Since the Ukrainian positions are static and shared with the drone via data link before takeoff, the Jackal knows where not to fire to hit friendly troops. As it closes the town on its pre-set waypoints, the operator sets the guidance system for a combination of thermal and infrared targeting. In the meantime, Russian troops are nearing the village and will soon return to the safety of their own lines. But where is the drone? Then, quietly, without the Russians ever knowing a thing, the Jackal lets loose both its Martlet missiles. The deadly payloads careen into two of the tanks, trying to extract the hapless Russians in the town. They both smack into the tank's engine exhaust with lethal precision, eliminating two more tanks. And what of the Jackal? Despite not having control of the drone due to the jamming attack, the Jackal returns to its sender back along the pre-programmed waypoints after yet another successful hunt. With that, the Ukrainians are the Jackal again and await the next mission as the Jackal serves its purpose of leveling the playing field for those without strong air forces. Bye for now.