Drones for the Project and for Survivors.

[ChalkLine]

Has anyone thought about this?

Really, the drone revolution has only really taken off in the last few years and its quite practical for GMs to wash their hands of the whole drone concept. For a start its very nature means less adventure. The PCs, secure in their MPV, sit back an reconnoiter an area with a drone. Seeing raiders they prudently avoid the area . . .
. . . but this can be a good thing. Rather than have your PCs find out a place is too tough the hard way a drone can give them stand-off observation. Also, if you are going to have power armour in the game then drones make perfect sense. It would be a bit odd to have such an advanced technology available and not have drones.

Drones are of course quite vulnerable and a shotgun will make a mess of one. Given current technology combining armour and small aircraft just isn't possible. They also are often quite noisy which offsets their scouting abilities, and it's likely that the older they get - you can't get new ones - then the noisier they'll be.

Drones essentially come in various types. We'll consider three major categories and then some subcategories.

- Airborne
- - Fixed Wing
- - Rotary
- Groundborne
- - Tracked/Wheeled
- - Leg
- Waterborne
- - Surface
- - Submersible

There's a correlation between range and size when designing them. Also the bigger the drone the more functions the sensors can be carried, tine drones can only carry a camera. Also larger drones are needed for payloads. While it's unlikely that suicide drones will still be in use so long after the apocalypse the PCs can at least have a sigh of relief over that!

[Desert Mariner]

My personal favorite for recon is Flir's day/night Black Hornet which is man portable (168mm long and 33 grams) but also has vehicle mounted launchers available.

https://www.flir.com/products/black-hornet-prs/

[mmartin798]

The Black Hornet is rather recent, I think being first deployed in 2012. Something that would more likely be in the Project would be the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeroVironment_RQ-11_Raven

While it doesn't fit in the palm of your hand, it is still man-portable. Plus it is large enough and has endurance enough to hold a radio relay to extend communications range for a team.

[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by ChalkLine

Has anyone thought about this?

Really, the drone revolution has only really taken off in the last few years and its quite practical for GMs to wash their hands of the whole drone concept. For a start its very nature means less adventure. The PCs, secure in their MPV, sit back a reconnoiter an area with a drone. Seeing raiders they prudently avoid the area .

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) would be a real force multiplier for the project. I could see them as part of any bolthole. the size of UAV could easier fit in a vehicle and add long-range eyes to the team.

The bolthole could even have a drone lunch system so the team could survey the area before heading out.

[Matt W]

Agreed. The use of drones would be a good idea for the Project. IMHO, the Science One (for example) would be improved if it had a few unmanned aircraft and vehicles.

something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqnpBP5oh24

According to the designer's website it runs on batteries and has a payload of 500kg. https://drone4.eu/en/home-en/

[nduffy]

I decided to equip my teams with drones. Its a great force multiplier and gives the teams an added edge for recon and combat when needed. I gave them a drone equipped with thermal vision as well as the usual electronic suites that they would carry. The group made frequent use of the drone and seemed to enjoy it and also finding it as an added surprise to their equipment list. I also equipped MARS and RATT teams with them and when the team discovered a MP airbase they were then given access to an MQ-9 Reaper to help with a KFS problem. (The KFS owns a few less tanks now )