High Tech and Curious Weaponry

"The Boeing unmanned Little Bird (ULB) demonstrator is a modification of the MD 530F single-turbine helicopter, designed for both manned and unmanned flight. The ULB can be remotely operated or programmed for autonomous operations in any of its three operational modes: dual pilot, single pilot or unmanned flight operations. The high payload capacity allows missions to include long-endurance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions using heavy, high-capability sensors. ..."

"For the US Army, the missions of the manned / unmanned A/MH-6X Little Bird could include surveillance, as a wideband communications node, resupply of troops in battlefield forward positions, the extraction of stranded soldiers in the battlefield and the rescue of downed pilots. ..."

Full article at:
http://www.army-technology.com/projects/littlebirdhelicopter/

It's funny you mention the Little Bird, I was just reading some extra info about it's latest versions a few hours ago.

Speaking Of The Little Bird
A New Version Is Planned To Be Constructed The "Stalker"

It's Completely Awesome, And Is Unmanned, With Gatling Guns Replacing Miniguns
The Gatling Gun Intended Is The :
20 mm XM301 Three-Barrel Light Weight Cannon Mounted In A Turreted Gun System (500 Round Capacity)



(The Same One Used On The Comanche)
Yeah People May Think This Is Too Heavy Or Too Powerful For The Little Bird
But The Thing Is They're Putting That G-Gun Under It Really Light It's 80.5 Pounds (36.5 kg)
And Replacing The Miniguns By Rockets/Rocket Pods Or Advanced Surveillance Equipment


XM-301 Statistics :

The XM301 produced by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is the lightest 20mm Gatling gun in the world. It features firing rates of 750 and 1,500 shots per minute, making it the ideal weapon for platforms that require air-to-air and air-to-ground lethality in a lightweight package.


Specifications:

Gun Type: Three-Barrel, 20mm, Externally Powered Gatling Gun

Weight: 80.5 Pounds (36.5 kg)


Rate of Fire: Up to 1,500 Shots Per Minute

Dispersion: 2.2 Milliradians, one sigma radial


Muzzle Velocity: 3,380 (1,030m) Feet Per Second


Ammunition Capacity: 500 Rounds


Drive System: Hydraulic, Electric, Pneumatic


Feed System: Linked or Linkless

It looks like the Little Bird has grown , we gotta call it the Big Bird when they mount that gun on it.

Yeah, But At That Time, It Will Be A Stalker , So, Sexy Female Apaches , BEWARE
And Femme Fatale Apaches, Keep The Stalkers Reputation Safe!

Too true, at this moment it looks like the Little Birds will still watch a lot of action in the next decades (specially since the last Little Bird upgrades further extend it's mission capabilities and technology support ).

ARTHUR is a military radar system originally developed by Ericsson Microwave Systems (now Saab Microwave Systems) in close cooperation with the Swedish Defence Material Administration and Norwegian Army Material Command.

ARTHUR can operate as a stand-alone medium-range Weapons Locating Radar or a long-range weapon locating system, consisting of 2 to 4 radars working in coordination. This flexibility enables the system to maintain a constant surveillance of an area of interest on a complex battlefield.

It detects hostile projectiles and calculates their points of origin with great accuracy and these positions are automatically relayed to friendly artillery units, which can then return fire. ARTHUR also tracks out-going projectiles from friendly artillery and calculates points of impact. The radar is capable of detecting and track very small targets such as mortar bombs in the presence of clutter and electronics countermeasures (ECM).

With its low weight, small size and single vehicle configuration when mounted on a BV206, the system has high tactical and operational mobility and is capable of manoeuvering in the most difficult of terrain.

In a demonstration in Hungary, ARTHUR was able to detect and locate the firing units for 500 assorted rockets, cannon shells, and mortar rounds.

The British say that ARTHUR meets their requirement to locate any artillery piece firing within 15km of friendly troops within 75 meters. It can be carried by a C-130 or slung under a heavy lift helicopter such as a Chinook. Its air mobility allows it for use by light and rapid reaction forces such as the airborne and Marine units.