AeroVironment

choi

Brad Stone, Flight of the Warbots; How a save-the-earth maker of solar-powered aircraft became the world's most prolific manufacturer of military drones. Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Dec 12, 2011 (cover date)
http://www.businessweek.com/maga ... channel_top+stories
("a small Los Angeles-area company called AeroVironment [] produces 85 percent of the unmanned aerial systems used by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Defense Dept")

My comment:
(a) Please read only web page 1 as well as the first paragraph of web page 2.
(b) I always wondered how come the enemy did not notice the UAV (at least the sound of engine buzz, if not the sight). A paragraph in web page 3 of the report supplies the answer.

"Soldiers returning from battle zones describe using small UAVs to probe enemy positions and ensure convoy routes are clear. U.S. Army Major Noma C. Martini, who commanded a brigade near Mosul, Iraq, says his company flew Raven-Bs at extremely low altitudes to deter insurgent attacks. 'The enemy was probing us constantly,' he says. 'If they could see and hear our Ravens, they knew we had the ability to take action on them.'

(2) The MiG-21 Curse Continues. Strategy Page, Dec 9, 2011
http://strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20111209.aspx
("fears that all the Russian made engines in these aircraft might have a common problem. These fears are not new. The MiG-27 and Cold War era Russian warplanes in general, do not age well.")

(3) 叶拉尼安, 用水缺乏中东国家面临危机. VOA Chinese, Dec 9, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... ater-135348018.html

, which is translated from
Edward Yeranian, Mideast Water Shortages Threaten Millions. VOA, Dec 9, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/english/n ... ions-135335598.html

Note: For the "qat" tree, see khat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat
(native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula; fresh leaves contain the active ingredient cathinone)

(4) 中国核武报告遭质疑，美教授现身说法. VOA Chinese, Dec 9, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... hina-135349288.html

(5) 印尼驻美大使：一个新亚洲欢迎美中和平之争. VOA Chinese, Dec 9, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... cing-135339223.html