Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Videos of various DJI drones attacking tanks and armored vehicles in Syria are constantly circulating on the Chinese Internet, and it is no exception in places outside China.

In addition to letting more people know about DJI, a Chinese company, this has also allowed many countries to see the special applications of small drones on modern battlefields.

In the past, most people thought that only large drones such as the Predator, Reaper, Global Hawk, and Twin-Tailed Scorpion had practical significance on the battlefield.

Small consumer drones like DJI drones don’t seem to have anything to do with war.

However, various videos from Syria have obviously broken everyone's perception.

General Atomics, as the most professional drone company in the United States, supplies many of its products to various teams in the United States.

They have always regarded Daystar Technology as their biggest competitor. After all, both Scorpion drones and Golden Eagle unmanned helicopters can be used in the military.

But they didn't expect that a DJI would appear now, catching them off guard.

"John, does the Pentagon have plans to purchase small drones in large quantities?"

Print, who was promoted from vice president to president of General Atomics last month, is preparing to flex his muscles and make the company the world's largest drone company.

However, this ambition has not yet been implemented, but it was hit hard by DJI Drone, a Chinese company that suddenly appeared.

“We are assessing the impact of small drones on modern combat models.”

"But you must have seen those videos in the past few days. Small drones have special uses in some special battlefields."

"So there will definitely be large-scale purchases in the future."

John and Print are also old acquaintances.

As soon as the other party spoke, he could guess the purpose.

"Small UAVs are playing an increasingly important role on modern battlefields. They can perform a variety of tasks and provide important support and guarantee for military operations."

"Our company specializes in developing a new type of small drone. We hope the Pentagon can provide more support."

When it comes time to ask for funds, Printer will never be polite.

Anyway, if these funds are not given to ourselves, they will be given to other enterprises and will not save taxpayers.

"Although small UAVs have limited payloads, they can still carry some small arms or explosives for air support and strike missions."

“This is a feature we didn’t pay much attention to before.”

"Now that the problem has been discovered, we definitely hope to equip it as soon as possible."

"You are starting research and development now. How long will it take to produce the product?"

General Atomics is the largest drone company in the United States. John knew that if the Pentagon wanted to purchase drones, it would definitely not avoid them.

In addition, everyone is an old acquaintance, so there is definitely no need to beat around the bush at this time.

"This is very fast. Related products will be available next year."

In Print's view, consumer-grade small drones are obviously not difficult to build.

But John's view is a little different from his.

"What is the estimated cost of your small drone?"

Although John did not pay for it, if the purchase price can be kept down, it must be his credit.

"There is no way to confirm this yet, but I think it can be within $10."

Print thought for a moment and gave an answer.

In his view, products such as Predator drones can easily cost tens of millions of dollars. Now, building a small drone worth $10 should be attractive enough.

But John doesn’t see it that way.

"Print, I went to find out specifically. The prices of DJI drone products on the market are generally between US$1000 and US$1. There are no products as expensive as US$10."

"For example, the drones used in Syria are said to be purchased by dealers for only around US$1000."

"In this case, if you have to bury $10 for your drone, I'm afraid it will be very difficult."

After listening to Print's words, some special thoughts suddenly emerged in John's mind.

Of course, he would definitely not tell Printer this idea.

He planned to go find a few friends to discuss his thoughts later.

"John, what we are studying are small drones for military use. They cannot be compared with DJI's consumer drones."

"We need to consider that in complex environments, such as cities or mountains, drones need to have high-precision positioning and navigation capabilities."

"Improving the navigation system, sensors and positioning algorithms of drones is a very important technical challenge and requires a lot of manpower and material resources."

"To hold this position, the drone needs to maintain good communication and data exchange with the ground command center or other aircraft in long distances and complex environments."

"In order to ensure the stability, security and reliability of communication and data links, we also have to invest a lot of resources."

"$10 is already our calculated cost based on large purchases."

What Printer said was obviously reasonable, and there was no way to easily refute it.

If it were someone who didn't understand the situation, he would probably think that the price of US$10 for a small drone is really a bargain.

But no one’s DJI products are right there. No matter how much you talk about other products, it won’t be convincing.

John, who had other thoughts in mind, was too lazy to argue with Print this time. After a few more words, the exchange ended.

Then he immediately found a very close friend.

"Frank, I have an idea. Let's see if it's feasible."

Over the years, John has collaborated with Frank on many private projects. It can be said that Frank is nominally his friend and old classmate, but it is more accurate to say that Frank is John's white glove.

"Do you have any new ideas?"

Frank looked at John expectantly.

Every time John spoke to him like this, it meant something great was coming.

"Have you seen the videos of drones attacking tanks and armored vehicles that have been circulated in Syria during this period?"

"Of course! This is already the most popular content on the video website, I must have seen it too."

"According to the information I have learned, this small UAV is of great significance to local battlefields. Relevant departments have realized this and are preparing to purchase large quantities of them."

"John, but our company does not produce drones."

Frank said regretfully.

For relevant departments in the United States, military product procurement is definitely a huge piece of fat.

A large part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending every year is related to military product procurement.

John only needs to pluck some hair from it, and he can eat a lot.