The Pentagon wants to buy an Australian-made 'kamikaze' suicide drone armed with a shotgun

• The Pentagon clears an Australian shotgun drone for American government procurement
• Australia's Cerberus MI can fire weapons and return for reloading
• The 40-pound aircraft can carry shotguns or grenade launchers

The Pentagon has approved an Australian-developed armed drone for inclusion on a procurement list used by American military and federal agencies.

Cerberus MI was developed by Skyborne Technologies and carries a 12-gauge shotgun for engaging targets during flight.

Unlike disposable attack drones, the 40-pound (18-kilogram) aircraft can return to its operator after an engagement, receive fresh ammunition, and undertake another mission.

A reusable aircraft carrying conventional weapons

Skyborne designed Cerberus MI with a reinforced airframe capable of handling weapon recoil, while allowing operators to exchange its shotgun for a 40mm low-velocity grenade launcher.

The aircraft uses onboard artificial intelligence to combine information from multiple sensors, although human operators retain control over engagement decisions.

Skyborne says its targeting system for this ...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to www.techradar.com. To see the full text click HERE