Engineers creating military drones that are ‘grown’ in large-scale labs using highly advanced chemistry

ENGINEERS are on the verge of creating military drones that are “grown” in large-scale labs using highly advanced chemistry.

THE future of modern warfare just got terrifying, thanks to a breakthrough in the development of military drones.

Researchers from BAE systems — the world’s second-largest defence contractor — are currently exploring a new technology that will allow the military to “grow” small scale unmanned aircraft in a matter of weeks.

“A radical new machine called a Chemputer could enable advanced chemical processes to grow aircraft and some of their complex electronic systems, conceivably from a molecular level upwards,” the company’s website describes.

“This unique UK technology could use environmentally sustainable materials and support military operations where a multitude of small UAVs with a combination of technologies serving a specific purpose might be needed quickly. It could also be used to produce multifunctional parts for large manned aircraft.”

To illustrate the potential for this technology, BAE systems released a concept video of the process in action.

The video shows two robotic arms squirting four blobs into a large vat, which is then filled with a liquid to speed up the evolutionary processes and chemical reactions.

A small aircraft is then created and the liquid is drained, before the drone is moved to a conveyor belt where it is fitted with extra components.

BAE Systems Engineer Nick Colosimo said the aircraft could perform a variety of missions such as deploying emergency supplies or performing surveillance.

“The world of military and civil aircraft is constantly evolving and it’s been exciting to work with scientists and engineers outside BAE Systems and to consider how some unique British technologies could tackle the military threats of the future,” he said.

Professor Lee Cronin of the University of Glasgow added the Chemputer made for a very exciting time in the development of chemistry.

“We have been developing routes to digitise synthetic and materials chemistry and at some point in the future hope to assemble complex objects in a machine from the bottom up, or with minimal human assistance,” he said.

“Creating small aircraft would be very challenging but I’m confident that creative thinking and convergent digital technologies will eventually lead to the digital programming of complex chemical and material systems.”