• CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      3 days ago

      Sort of? Existing software isn’t smart enough to fight a battle on it’s own, and electronic warfare is a real thing that makes communications hard. In a full-blown war situation there’s appeal in having a human being in a cockpit close to possible targets.

      The things we worry about in Canada are more specific, though. For example, we probably don’t need long-range bombers of our own.

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      Drones can’t defend the Arctic. In fact they’d be fairly useless to most of Canada that doesn’t sit within the 49th-50th parallel.

          • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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            3 days ago

            I mean, -60 is extremely unusual even in the high arctic, but the point stands at “just” -40.

            It’s usually more a matter of designers not bothering with severe cold conditions than any fundamental issue. In a pinch, I imagine just getting an FPV drone up to temperature in a tent or sleeping bag would give you a bit of range. For more, you’d need to insulate it and add a little internal heater, but that seems doable.

            Most of what happens in the arctic is going to involve long-distance gas (or nuclear) powered equipment anyway. It’s big and sparsely populated.