Welcome to the Unmanned Drone, Surveillance & War Costs Section of the ADC Website.
The United States has embarked on Worldwide and Domestic Drone Programs. Unmanned Drones are being used in foreign countries and in the United States. They carry surveillance cameras, recording equipment, bombs, and other weapon systems.
In recent years the U.S. government has decided to allow the use drones within the borders of the United States. The following government reports, newspaper articles, and other information is provided for your information regarding the expansion and use of unmanned drones worldwide and in the United States.
Many unmanned aerial vehicles now under production vary in size from those as small as your fingetip to as large as full-scale airplanes capable of carrying missiles and bombs. And model radio control small airplanes, cars, and helicopters can be purchased at your local toy stores or hobby shops. The elementary technology has been in existence for more than fifty years. It has only been in more recent times that more sophisticated technology, computers, cameras, listening devices, fuels, lighter and stronger contstruction materials, and other inventions have contributed to new uses for unmanned vehicles (drones).
Unmanned Drones are plagued by crashes, malfuctions, use of defective parts from foreign countries like China, accidents (including hitting other aircraft), loss of control, lost drones, and other problems. Military drones are being tested over land areas in the United States while carrying weapons systems, missiles, bombs, and while using experimental and dangerous fuels, like hydrogen, or powered by nuclear power as is proposed by the U.S. government. The potential for accidents has already been clearly demonstrated in news and government reports over the past few years.
UAV / Drone Wars, Surveillance, (including Spy Satellite usage), have broad implications regarding our civil rights, human rights, privacy, and constitutional issues which have not been addressed at this time. Do we want to live in a society which has no privacy and no civil rights under our U.S. Constitution? Do we want to live in a police state?
Many manufacturers and the U.S. government promote the idea that unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), have only beneficial uses to entice the American people to accept their use within our borders without question. The majority of expanding unmanned drone uses are growing exponentially and are being used as war weapons, for police activities, and surveillance at taxpayer expense.
U.S. Department of Defense July 2012 Report: http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/dsb/autonomy.pdf
The ADC invites you to become informed about this issue. Our elected officials are rubber-stamping their usage without public debate. It is time for us to have this debate.
U.S. Constitution – Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
General Information on Drones & UAVs
New York Times Article on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) June 19, 2011 – Articles – Video & Graphics – “War Evolves With Drones…Some Tiny as Bugs” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/world/20drones.html?_r=2
517AN 1 2012 Almost 1-in-3 U.S. Warplanes is a Robot January 9, 2012 Wired News http___www.wired.pdf
U.S. Navy Boardman Range Complex – State of Oregon
Draft Environmental Impact Statement could be issued at any time to allow the expansion of a Drone and UAV warfare testing range which is part of the U.S. Navy NWTRC (Northwest Training Range Complex – Northern California-Oregon-Washington-Idaho)
517B 1 2012 U.S. Navy Boardman Oregon Documents and References Website January 25, 2012.pdf
517B 1 2012 U.S. Navy Boardman Oregon Importance of Study Area Website March 29, 2012.pdf
517B 1 2012 U.S. Navy Boardman Oregon Notice of Intent Revised Website March 29, 2012 Revised.pdf
517B 1 2012 U.S. Navy Boardman Oregon Revised Special Use Airspace Figure Website March 29, 2012.pdf
517B 2 2011 U.S. Navy Hope for Carrier-Based Drone Takes Flight-October 10, 2011 Innovation News.pdf
517BN 1 2012 U.S. Navy $176Million Drone Crashes in Maryland March June 11, 2012 USA Today News.pdf
517BN 1 2012 U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk Drone Crashes in Maryland CNN News June 11, 2012.pdf
517BN 2 2011 U.S. Army Orders First Suicide Drones September 6, 2011 Innovations News Daily.pdf
517BR 2 2011 U.S. Navy UFO-Like Stealth Drone Takes Flight October 11, 2011 Fox News.pdf
517BX 3 2010 USGS Atmospheric Sampling Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAV_Equipment.pdf
You will find more information on Unmanned Drones in Oregon by Visiting this U.S. Navy Link: http://www.warcosts.net/u-s-navy-pacific-warfare-testing-ranges/
California
517C 6 2007 NASA Drone Fights Wildfires October 24, 2007 Aviation Week News.pdf
U.S. Navy – DARPA- U.S. Navy NRL & ONR Information
517D 1 2012 DARPA Doubling Down on Spy Technologies April 18, 2012 National Defense NDIA News.pdf
517D 2 2011 DARPA Images Website May 28, 2012 ACTUV.pdf
517D 2 2011 DARPA Large_ACTUV Website may 28, 2012.pdf
517D 1 2012 DARPA_Titanium_Initiative_(DTI) Website March 20, 2012.pdf
517D 2 2012 DARPA AWS Tactical Technology Office TTO December 13, 2011 DARPA-BAA-12-19.pdf
517D 4 2009 DARPA-SAIC Awarded DARPA Contract+U.S. Air Force Machine Reading System July 7, 2009.pdf
517DC 1 2012 DARPA Defense Sciences Office Chemical_Robots-Chembots Website March 20, 2012.pdf
517DC 4 2012 DARPA Defense Sciences Office Chemical_Robots-Chembots Website March 20, 2012.pdf
517DU 1 2012 U.S. Navy-AAI Unmanned Vessel Could Soon be Working for U.S. Navy April 12, 2012.pdf
517DU 4 2009 U.S. Navy Website on Antisubmarine-Warfare Search August 2009 DARPA+Acoustics-DARPA.pdf
517DZ 3 2010 Aviation Week DARPA-Humvee That Flies-Takes Off+Lands April 16, 2012.pdf
Edgewood Chemical-Biological Center
FAA & USGS Information – Drone & UAV Related Information
517F 1 2012 FAA Budget Information Website June 10, 2012 http___www.faa.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA COA_Sponsor_List_April 24, 2012 Website Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Drone COA Status April 16, 2012 Entire Listing Under FOIA.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Makes Progress With UAS Integration Website June 10, 2012.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Press Release-FAA Asks for Public Input on UAS Test Site Selection March 7, 2012.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Questions+Answers UAS Test Site Selection March 2012 Website http___www.faa.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Website May 22, 2012 http___www.faa.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Website Section June 10, 2012 http___www.faa.pdf
517F 1 2012 FAA-U.S. Federal Register Unmanned Aircraft System Test sites March 9, 2012.pdf
517F 1 2012 Organizations that Have Sought to Use Drones Washington Post April 20, 2012.pdf
517F 1 2012 The Growing U.S. Drone Fleet Article+Graphic May 2012 Washington Post.pdf
517F 2 2011 FAA Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Justifications Website June 10, 2012.pdf
517F 2 2011 The Growing U.S. Drone Fleet December 23, 2011 Washington Post Graphic.pdf
517FG 1 2012 U.S.GS National Unmanned Aircraft System UAS Project Office Website May 22, 2012.pdf
517FZ 1 2012 FAA Budget Estimates Fiscal Year 2013 Website June 10, 2012.log
U.S. GAO & CRS Congressional Reports on Drones – UAVs – UAs
517G 1 2012 U.S. GAO Report on Foreign Police Assistance May 2012.pdf
517G 10 2003 U.S. Congressional Research Service Unmanned Aerial Vehicles April 25, 2003 RL31872.pdf
Health – Bioeffects of Selected Non-lethal Weapons
Drone Problems – Crashes & Other Information
517I 1 2012 U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk Drone Crashes in Maryland CNN News June 11, 2012.pdf
517I 2 2011 ISAF Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crashes in Eastern Afghanistan June 28, 2011.pdf
517I 2 2011 MQ-9 Reaper Crashed Alamogordo Daily News Report October 7, 2011.pdf
517I 3 2010 Mexican UAV Crashes in Texas December 17, 2010 Aviation Week News.pdf
517I 3 2010 MQ-1 Predator Crashed-Holloman U.S. Air Force Base New Mexico October 22, 2012.pdf
517I 3 2012 Shadow Drone Tops UAV Crash List Between 2004 and November 5, 2010.pdf
Radar & Other Drone Issues
Newspaper Articles
517K 1 2012 Almost 1-in-3 U.S. Warplanes is a Robot January 9, 2012 Wired News http___www.wired.pdf
517K 1 2012 American Murderous Drone Campaign is Fueling Terror May 29, 2012 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517K 1 2012 Aviation Today-Regional Jets Crowd Skies-Squeeze Fliers USA Today June 14, 2012.pdf
517K 1 2012 Drone News in 2012 from Wired News Danger Room June 24, 2012 http___www.wired.pdf
517K 1 2012 Drones Are Unlawful and Dangerous Editorial USA Today.pdf
517K 1 2012 Drone Journalism Takes Office February 21, 2012 ABC News-See Nano-Drone Video.pdf
517K 1 2012 Drones Coming to a Sky Near You Huffington Post April 1, 2012.pdf
517K 1 2012 Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Drones May 31, 2012 ProPublica.pdf
517K 1 2012 Florida Hopes to Fill its Skies with Unmanned Aircraft USA Today June 23, 2012.pdf
517K 1 2012 Police Drones are Already in the U.S. June 24, 2012 Website http___defensetech.pdf
517K 1 2012 South Caroline Activist Drone UAV Shot Down by Gun Enthusiasts February 23, 2012.pdf
517K 2 2011 Coming Soon The Drone Arms Race October 8, 2011 NYTimes.pdf
517K 2 2011 Drones-The Next Generation January 13, 2011 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517K 2 2011 Micro-Aircraft improves avionic Systems+Sensors April 6, 2011 SDNews.pdf
517K 2 2012 Engineers Fly World’s First Printed Aircraft July 28, 2011 SDNews.pdf
517K 2 2011 U.S. Navy UFO-Like Stealth Drone Takes Flight October 11, 2011 Fox News.pdf
517K 3 2010 Boeing Unveils Unmanned Phantom Ray Demonstrator May 11 2010 SpaceWarNews.pdf
517K 4 2009 Unmanned Aircraft map Northern Wildfires-University of Alaska August 11, 2009 SDNews.pdf
Miscellaneous Information
517M 1 2012 FAS Drone UAV+UAS Sources+Resources+Links Website June 11, 2012.pdf
517M 1 2012 Honeywell T-Hawk_Brochure.pdf
Nuclear Powered Drones
(What Happens When They Crash or Malfunction While Carrying War Weapons?)
There are also issues about Hydrogen Fueled Drones – Explosion Drawbacks
517N 1 2012 U.S. Draws up Plans for Nuclear Powered Drones Guardian.co.uk April 4, 2012 News.pdf
517N D 2012 DARPA Doubling Down on Spy Technologies April 18, 2012 National Defense NDIA News.pdf
Unmanned Aerial Drones – Increasing Use by Local Police Departments
American taxpayers are subsiding the purchasing of drones or UAVs by local police departments at a tremendous cost – manpower to run the computers, fuel and repair costs (parts and labor), human training costs, weather problems, night vision technologies cost money and will use manpower during night use…and this means fewer policemen on the beat to respond to citizen complaints, crimes, and other issues. And this will mean an increase in airborne domestic surveillance.
517P 1 2012 Drone Use Takes Off on the Home Front April 21, 2012 The Wall Street Journal.pdf
517P 2 2011 Police Ready for War in U.S. December 21, 2011 Center for Investigative Reporting.pdf
NASA & NOAA
517Q 1 2012 NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Website May 22, 2012 http___uas.noaa.pdf
The increase scale and use of Robots, Balloons, Eye-Bots & All Sized Surveillance & Other Types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
517R 1 2012 New Drone Has No Pilot-Who is Accountable Los Angeles Times January 26, 2012.pdf
517R 2 2011 Top 10 Robot Stories of 2011-Intorduction December 22, 2012 Innovation News Daily.pdf
517R 3 2010 Hop-Jump+Stick-Robots Designed With Insect Instincts June 24, 2010 SDNews.pdf
517R 3 2010 UK-Rise of the Robots and the Future of War November 20, 2010 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517R 4 2009 A Drone For Security and Safety from European Researchers May 29, 2009 SDNews.pdf
517R 4 2009 Flight and Rescue Robots Demonstrated Their Abilities July 3, 2009 SDNews.pdf
517R 5 2008 Micro Air Vehicle-Three Gram Dragonfly Takes Flight July 22, 2008 SDNews.pdf
517R 5 2008 Military Use of Robots Increases August 4, 2008 SDNews.pdf
517R 5 2008 Mobile Phone Technology Brings Robot Swarm to Research Labs AUG 5, 2008 SDNews.pdf
Surveillance & Spying Issues
517S 1 2012 Are Drones Watching You January 10, 2012.pdf
517S 1 2012 Do Drones Undermine Democracy January 21, 2012 by Singer NYTimes THE ANSWER IS YES.pdf
517S 2 2011 U.S. Air Force Gorgon Drone-Can See Everything January 2, 2011 Washington Post.pdf
517S 2 2011 U.S. Air Force Gorgon Drone-We Can See Everything Washington Post January 2, 2011.pdf
517S 2 2011-2012 U.S. Air Force Gorgon Drone Spying January 2, 2012 Washington Post-Note Graphic.pdf
517S 2 2012 War Evolves With Drones-Some Tiny as Bugs NYTimes June 19, 2011 Entire Article.pdf
517S 3 2010 Obama Administration The Drone and Spying War December 16, 2010 Wired News.pdf
Manufacturers & Contractors (List Not Complete)
Many manufacturers are requesting permission or have been granted permission to sell unmanned aerial vehicles to other countries for commercial use…the problem is that they can be weaponized very easily…and used against the U.S. This will have the impact of making Americans less secure than ever before…as detection will become almost impossible due to size, materials, and stealth capabilities. The U.S. has already lost drones in other countries and it won’t be long before many countries worldwide have this technology.
The United States is now, at taxpayer expense, going to arm NATO drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. It won’t be long before other countries will be selling this hardware and software to other foreign countries. The U.S. is setting up drone bases in South America and Africa – continuing to enrich the drone manufacturers.
517T 3 2010 Boeing Phantom Eye Hydrogen-Powered Spy Plane Unveiled BBC News July 14, 2010.pdf
517T 4 2009 Defense Contractors List May 14, 2009 Source Watch Website.pdf
517T 4 2009 SAIC Awarded DARPA Contract+U.S. Air Force Machine Reading System July 7, 2009.pdf
U.S. Air Force
517U 14 1917 U.S. Patent 001225521 Protecting From Poisonous Gas in Warfare May 8, 1917 Page 3.pdf
517U 2 2011 U.S. Air Force Class A Aerospace Mishaps Fiscal Year 2011 Reports.pdf
517U 2 2011 U.S. Air Force Investigation of May 5 2011 Afghanistan MQ-1B_AOR_September 9, 2011.pdf
517U 3 2010 U.S. Air force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Report F-22A November 16, 2010.pdf
517U 3 2010 U.S. Air Force Aircraft Investigation Board Report F-16CM October 8, 2010.pdf
517U 3 2010 U.S. Air Force Drones Leave Military Awash in Data NYTimes January 11, 2010 by Drew.pdf
517U 4 2009 U.S. Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan May 18, 2009-2047 072309kp1.pdf
U.S. Army
517UA 1 2012 U.S. Army Upgrading Unmanned Aerial Systems April 4, 2012 Website http___www.army.pdf
517UA 2 2011 U.S. Army Orders First Suicide Drones September 6, 2011 Innovation Daily News.pdf
517UA 2 2011 U.S. Army Tests Wireless Detection Technology December 1, 2011 Aviation Week News.pdf
517UAZ 3 2010 U.S. Army Roadmap for UAS 2010-2035 Eyes of the U.S. Army Report.log
517UAZ 3 2010 U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap 2010-2035 Report.log
U.S. Marine Corps
Foreign Countries & NATO
517V 1 2012 Africa-U.S. Surveillance Targets in Africa June 13, 2012 Washington Post.pdf
517V 1 2012 Iraq Outraged by Use of U.S. Drones-Report Space Daily News January 29, 2012.pdf
517V 1 2012 Israeli Eitan-Type Unmanned Drone Crashed in Ball of Fire January 29, 2012 CNN News.pdf
517V 1 2012 Italy+U.S. Plans to Arm Italy Drones May 29, 2012 Wall Street Journal.pdf
517V 1 2012 Pakistan+Yemen Hatred-What Drones Sow June 12, 2012 Salon.com News http___www.salon.pdf
517V 1 2012 Pakistan-Drone Strikes-Playing God in Pakistan June 5, 2012 Guardian.co.uk Editorial.pdf
517V 1 2012 Venezuela Making Drones-Assembling Rifles APNews-BloombergNews June 14, 2012.pdf
517V 3 2010 UK-Rise of the Robots and the Future of War November 20, 2010 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517V 5 2008 UK-Swarms of Robots Join the Army August 20, 2008 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517V 2 2011 Global Race on to Match U.S. Drone Capabilities July 4, 2012 Washington Post.pdf
517V 3 2010 French Army Reconnaissance Drones August 6, 2010 Aviation Week News.pdf
Drone – UAV – UAS War Weapons & Surveillance
517W 2 2011 A Future for Drones-Automated Killing September 19, 2011 Washington Post.pdf
U.S. Government Issues & Actions at Taxpayer Expense
517X 1 2012 The Battle for U.S. Military Future June 13, 2012 Pincus-Washington Post.pdf
517X 1 2012 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Unmanned Aircraft Systems Website May 22, 2012.pdf
517X 1 2012 U.D. Department of Defense Unmanned Warfare UW Website June 10, 2012.pdf
517X 1 2012 U.S. Drone Attacks and the Brennan Doctrine May 2, 2012 Guardian.co.uk.pdf
517X 2 2011 The Growing U.S. Drone Fleet December 23, 2011 Washington Post Graphic+Article.pdf
517X 3 2010 Administration Must Disclose Information About Illegal Drone Use June 21, 2010 ACLU.pdf
517X 3 2010 U.S. National Aeronautics Research+Development Plan February 2010 NAR&D_Plan-2010.pdf
517X 4 2009 U.S. Department of Defense UMS Integrated Roadmap April 6, 2009 Report.pdf
Drone & UAV (UAS) Issues in the United States
517Y 1 2012 U.S. Air Force Oversight of Intelligence Activities April 23, 2012 AFI 14-104.pdf
No Comment
517Z 1 2012 Book-Drone Warfare-Killing by Remote Control by Media Benjamin May 25, 2012 Video.pdf
517Z 1 2012 Do Not Let Drones Invade Our Privacy CNN Special June 14, 2012 Article+Video.pdf
517Z 1 2012 Drones Flying Under the Radar Truthout Article by Barry April 5, 2012.pdf
517Z 1 2012 High Tech U.S. Air force Drones in Afghanistan June 14, 2012 http___droneswatch.pdf
517Z 1 2012 MiKroKopter-Drone Helicopter June 11, 2012 Website.pdf
517Z 1 2012 Northrop_Grumman_RQ-4_Global_Hawk Wikipedia Website June 12, 2012.pdf
517Z 1 2012 The Year of the Drone-Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative Website June 24, 2012.pdf
517Z 1 2012 Tomgram-Nick Turse Hot Drone-On-Drone Action May 31, 2012 TomDispactchNews.pdf
The drone operator who said ‘No’
January 21, 2015 – BBC News Magazine
“…For four years, Brandon Bryant worked in America’s secret drone programme bombing targets in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He was told that he helped to kill more than 1,600 people, but as time went by he felt uneasy with what he was doing. He found it hard to sleep and started dreaming in infra-red. Brandon Bryant told Witness about his doubts and the mission that convinced him it was time to stop. Witness is a World Service programme of the stories of our times told by the people who were there…”
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30483010
War Costs-The Drone Operator Who Said NO January 21, 2015 BBC News+Video.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/06/20/when-drones-fall-from-the-sky/
Washington Post – June 20, 2014
Part One: War Zones
When Drones Fall From The Sky
Written by Craig Whitlock
“…More than 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed in major accidents around the world since 2001, a record of calamity that exposes the potential dangers of throwing open American skies to drone traffic, according to a year-long Washington Post investigation.
Since the outbreak of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, military drones have malfunctioned in myriad ways, plummeting from the sky because of mechanical breakdowns, human error, bad weather and other reasons, according to more than 50,000 pages of accident investigation reports and other records obtained by The Post under the Freedom of Information Act…”
Washington Post – June 22, 2014
Domestic Airspace Crashes Mount As Military Flies More Drones In U.S.
Part II
Written by Craig Whitlock
The Washington Post Special Three Part Report + Video on Drones
“Behind the U.S. Targeted Killing Program”
October 23 2012 – “Over the past few years, the Obama administration has institutionalized the use of armed drones and developed a counterterrorism infrastructure capable of sustaining a seemingly permanent war…”
Special Report – The Permanent War – “…This project, based on interviews with dozens of current and former national security officials, intelligence analysts and others, examines evolving U.S. counterterrorism policies and the practice of targeted killing…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/plan-for-hunting-terrorists-signals-us-intends-to-keep-adding-names-to-kill-lists/2012/10/23/4789b2ae-18b3-11e2-a55c-39408fbe6a4b_story.html
Washington Post Related Links – 2012
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/foreign/drones/
About this Database and Graphics: “…This project relies in large part on data provided by Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal and New America Foundation’s Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative, each of which aggregates strike information based on credible news reports. The Washington Post has supplemented the data with information about more recent strikes. In most cases, the record for each strike includes links to related news reports; in cases in which there were multiple strikes on the same day in the same area, only one set of news reports is cited. When possible, the database includes the names of prominent militant leaders killed in individual strikes. The database does not include the exact number of those killed, given widespread discrepancies in various accounts and the difficulty of confirming reported tolls. By some estimates, the number of militants and civilians killed in the drone campaign over the past 10 years will soon exceed 3,000…”
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/DroneW
C-SPAN2 Video – July 7, 2012 – Book: Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control – “…Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, takes a critical look at the use of drones by the U.S. military and argues that targeted killings do not make us safer. Members of the audience also spoke out and Ms. Benjamin also responded to questions from members of the audience at Talking Leaves Bookstore in Buffalo, New York…”
Jeremy Scahill – Escalation of Drone War Worldwide – Published on May 25, 2012 by videonation: “…The United States is on a new trajectory in warfare, says Jeremy Scahill, national security correspondent for The Nation. With its increase in drone strikes, the United States is turning away from the large-scale military interventions of the past decade and towards covert operations, beyond such known locations as Pakistan and Yemen. Check out this video to learn where else Scahill thinks these covert ops are headed…”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/drone-journalism-takes-off/3840616
“Drone journalism takes off” By Mark Corcoran from Foreign Correspondent
Updated February 21, 2012 20:10:07
Drones play an increasing and controversial role in modern warfare. From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Iran and Yemen, they have become a ubiquitous symbol of Washington’s war on terrorism…Stalked by a drone…There is nothing quite like the sensation of being stalked by a drone. You take it very personally…Even without firing a shot, the drone, remote pilotless aircraft (RPA), unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), call it what you will, is the perfect weapon of intimidation…The media is beginning to go micro, exploiting rapid advances in technology by deploying small toy-like UAVs to get the story…Australia’s fledgling UAV industry may be about to get a big wake-up call from China…” See Video: Swarm of nano quadrotors
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303395604577432323658176792.html
U.S. Plans to Arm Italy’s Drones – May 29, 2012 – Wall Street Journal
“…WASHINGTON—The Obama administration plans to arm Italy’s fleet of Reaper drone aircraft, a move that could open the door for sales of advanced hunter-killer drone technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and others familiar with the matter… Lawmakers who question the planned deal say the decision to “weaponize” Italy’s unarmed surveillance drones could make it harder for the U.S. to deny similar capabilities to other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, and set back efforts to urge sales limitations on other nations that make sophisticated drones such as Israel. Advocates say such sales would enable trusted allies to conduct military missions on their own as well as help open markets for U.S. drone manufacturers. The administration sent a confidential “pre-notification” to (U.S.) congressional panels in April detailing its plan to sell kits to Italy to arm up to six Reaper drones, which are larger, more-powerful versions of Predators…”
Mail Online News – Death from above: Video of drones fitted with machine guns that could transform the battlefields of the future – A similar drone ‘may appear in the next Call of Duty game’ – By Ted Thornhill PUBLISHED: 11:37 EST, 23 April 2012 | UPDATED: 09:08 EST, 24 April 2012 –
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2134024/FPSRussia-shows-flying-drone-fitted-machine-gun.html#ixzz1xQBx2TKZ
Boeing Video – 2012 “…The Phantom Eye is an unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) designed to serve as an eye in the sky for surveillance, disaster relief, search and rescue, and a multitude of other uses. In this video, program manager Drew Mallow talks about the innovations that made its development possible…” Surveillance is the objective. Visit the Boeing Website for more information on the drones in our future: http://boeing.com/stories/videos/vid_08_phantom_eye.html
Stars and Stripes Drone Video – June 4, 2012 Article – “A new drone with the ability to stay in flight for up to four days completed its first autonomous test last week above Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system, with its 150-foot wingspan, is touted by manufacturer Boeing as representing a new era of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance…” And it looks like these drones will be used to spy on American Citizens. For more information visit: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/new-drone-capable-of-multi-day-flights-tested-at-edwards-afb-1.179579
http://situationroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/17/drone-crash-cause-for-concern/?hpt=sr_mid
CNN News & Video Concerns Over Drone Safety in U.S. Grow – Drone Collides With Cargo Plane in Afghanistan August 17, 2012 See CNN Video on Dangers.
WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 –
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/11/us/maryland-drone-crash/index.html
“Washington (CNN) — A U.S. Navy drone crashed Monday in a marsh near Salisbury, Maryland. The RQ-4A Global Hawk drone crashed during a routine training flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, according to Jamie Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for the Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons Program at the base…” June 11, 2012 See Video Clip from CNN.
CNN Report & Video May 22, 2012 Sen. Carl Levin: Counterfeit military parts pose ‘significant safety risk’
“…Because of a recent surge of counterfeit military parts– such as pieces of equipment used in aircrafts– the Senate Armed Services Committee has adopted new legislation to change the procedural laws for buying new or refurbished parts. Senator Carl Levin joins Starting Point this morning to explain the details of the new law, which he has been working on alongside Sen. John McCain. Levin explains that the news laws say that parts can only be bought from contracted, authorized distributors or certified suppliers and dictates that suppliers will be responsible for their own repairs. Regarding the threat posed by the counterfeit parts, Levin explains that the problem occurs almost exclusively with equipment produced in China, and poses a “significant” safety threat to the nation…”
Video Published on Jun 14, 2012 by TheAlexJonesChannel – Darrin McBreen Interviewed Rosalind Peterson of california sky Watch about the deadly consequences of the government using military unmanned armed drones in the United States.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr2gTCD160s&feature=plcp
http://www.infowars.com/
http://www.warcosts.net/drone-warfare/
New York Times – June 19, 2011 – “…WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Two miles from the cow pasture where the Wright Brothers learned to fly the first airplanes, military researchers are at work on another revolution in the air: shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects and birds.
From Blimps to Bugs: The Miniaturization of Drone Technnology
The base’s indoor flight lab is called the “microaviary,” and for good reason. The drones in development here are designed to replicate the flight mechanics of moths, hawks and other inhabitants of the natural world. “We’re looking at how you hide in plain sight,” said Greg Parker, an aerospace engineer, as he held up a prototype of a mechanical hawk that in the future might carry out espionage or kill…”
Video Published on May 25, 2012 by ResistNWOrder – Book by Medea Benjamin : Killer Drones Are Coming to U.S. Skies 5-12-12
Author of – Drone Warfare : Killing By Remote Control
Shift Shapers Radio http://codepink.org
Police Drones Are Already Here Defense Tech News March 8, 2012 – So everyone noticed when Congress told the FAA to get American airspace ready for regular drone flights, this move prompted a general Internet freakout about privacy concerns. No one likes the thought of being watched by the very drones that spy on suspected insurgents on Middle Eastern battlefields. Well, U.S. police departments are already gearing up to deploy UAV in American cities. The video below shows the Seattle Police Department’s new Draganflyer UAV. The kite-sized micro chopper weighs three pounds and can stay aloft for about 20 minutes. As a Seattle PD officer explains in the video, it’s not allowed to fly above 400 feet and has to be operated from a SPD vehicle. Just wait, though, law enforcement agencies accross the country will soon have bigger drones capable of conducting serious suveillance. Heck, a much bigger Shadowhawk drone-chopper belonging to the Montgomery County,Texas, Sheriff’s Office recently crashed into a SWAT truck belonging to said office. Click through the jump to watch a video of Seattle’s finest’s latest toy. read more: http://defensetech.org/2012/03/08/police-drones-are-already-here/#ixzz1yi8bcI9z Defense.org
C-SPAN Video – U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on Unmanned Aerial Systems – Drones – Washington, DC, Thursday, July 19, 2012
The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management examined the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to oversee the domestic use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. The Subcommittee looked at the increasing use of drones domestically and how they impact people’s privacy. Drones have been used by police departments, colleges and some federal agencies. In its 2012, reauthorization, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was directed by Congress to safely open domestic airspace to wider use of drones by 2015. The FAA is expected to release a proposed rule later this year, which would establish policies, procedures and standards for the unmanned aircrafts…”
http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Cmte-Examines-Increased-Domestic-Use-of-Drones/10737432450-1/
“Drone Secrecy Put to Test in Court-Appeals Court is Looking into Whether the Obama Administration can Withhold Documents Relating to the Drone Program” – September 21, 2012 “…A US appeals court is looking into whether the Barack Obama administration can withold documents relating to its drone programme. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, is trying to get more information on the secretive operations. A lower court had originally ruled that the CIA programme was classified and therefore exempted from making its records public, but an appeals court seems unlikely to stand by classified designation. Patty Culhane reports from Washington…”
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2012/09/20129213148897742.html
Hacked drones could become missiles over U.S., researchers warn – IT World News: June 28, 2012, 6:14 PM – GPS spoofing is easy and effective, demo proves, making plan for domestic drone flights risky – Source URL: http://www.itworld.com/security/282857/hacked-drones-could-become-missiles-over-us-researchers-warn
ACLU Testifies as Congress Takes on Domestic Drones – October 25, 2012 By Sandra Fulton, ACLU Washington Legislative Office – UDPATE: You can watch the video of the full hearing:
https://jones.adobeconnect.com/_a819989871/p6pshdpmd4c/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
“…The ACLU testified today before a House field forum examining drone technology and the Fourth Amendment at Rice University called by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.). Drones have gotten a lot of attention lately – U.S. law enforcement agencies are eager to get their hands on them while civil libertarians are concerned about the potential threat to privacy. The panel for today’s hearing, which was held in conjunction with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, included representatives from across the board, with witnesses from the advocacy, law enforcement, and academic worlds…”
Drones and Our Expectation of Privacy
“…Today’s hearing focused on the expected use of drones versus our expectation of privacy. While panelists from law enforcement were concerned about possibly over-regulating such useful technologies, all panelists agreed that a proliferation of drones raises different and heightened privacy concerns for the American public….” For more information on drones visit:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security/aclu-testifies-congress-takes-domestic-drones
Investigating Drone Attacks March 16, 2013 CNN Video
Saima Mohsin gets an exclusive interview with the UN investigator of drone strikes by U.S. and others in Pakistan.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/15/world/asia/u-n-drone-objections/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
http://mashable.com/2013/01/22/pbs-nova-drones-doc/
“…The robotic planes more commonly referred to as drones have gone from a secret, rarely covered military and CIA program to a regular fixture on the national media as well as technology websites. As one of the leaders behind the U.S. drone program, White House adviser John Brennan, gets ready to face confirmation hearings to head the CIA, drones have never been more in the spotlight. Popular science show NOVA hopes to shed more light on these flying bots with a documentary titled “Rise of the Drones.”
The documentary will tackle both the military and civilian side of drone technology, exploring how the military trains drone pilots at the Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico, as well as the role drones will play in domestic law enforcement. There are controversies in both of these worlds. Are drone strikes in accordance with international law? Are they killing too many civilians? “We’ve entered an era where we’re conducting an array of operations using unmanned systems that in a previous generation we would have called war, and we would have treated like war,” Peter W. Singer, an expert in the future of warfare, says in the documentary. “When you’re conducting more than 300 air strikes in a country, you’re conducting an equivalent of at least an ‘Air War’ campaign. But we don’t call it that now.”
On the civilian side, most of the questions are related to privacy and security. Can citizens’ privacy be respected when there are thousands of eyes in the sky? “I think anybody that can use a device to peer into your activities even if it’s the air outside your window or the air above your property, I think there is a right to privacy,” Rep. Rand Paul tells NOVA. “The worry is that in two [to] three years we will have 30,000 drones crisscrossing the sky accumulating all this information.”
In addition to Singer and Paul, to try to answer all these questions NOVA interviewed the “father” of the Predator drone, the most widely used killer drone in the U.S. arsenal, several drone pilots and Vijay Kumar, a University of Pennsylvania roboticist, particularly known for his studies in the control and coordination of multi-robot formations…”
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
NBC News-February 4, 2013 – Huffington Post Article February 5, 2013
“…Michael Isikoff To Rachel Maddow: DOJ Drone Memo Shows Obama Has ‘More Elastic’ Concept Of Imminent Threats (VIDEO)Rachel Maddow spoke to NBC News’ Michael Isikoff Monday night about his acquisition of a Justice Department white paper that lays out some of the Obama administration’s thinking behind its practice of killing American citizens with drone strikes. Isikoff landed a major scoop for NBC, which immediately splashed the white paper on its website. In it, the Justice Department says, according to Isikoff, that:
The U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” — even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.
Although evidence suggests that the paper is not the official memo which laid out the administration’s guidelines for the killing of Americans such as Anwar al-Awlaki, it does provide a partial look at how Obama justifies such strikes. Maddow noted that the details of the paper, as well as other questions surrounding the Obama administration’s policy, are certain to come up when his counterterrorism czar John Brennan faces Congress during his confirmation hearing for CIA director on Thursday. She wondered, in particular, whether the administration thought its rights to kill Americans extended to people inside the United States.
“Could the CIA or any other intelligence agency come kill you if the appropriate high-ranking official in the Obama administration — say, President Obama — decided that you were affiliated with al-Qaeda and you were a threat and you might act imminently to endanger this nation, could you then legally be killed as you laid in your bed?” she asked.
She then turned to Isikoff, who said that the paper “fleshes out some of the arguments that have been made publicly, and in ways that in some instances contrast with what has been said publicly.” The paper says that anyone targeted for killing must present an imminent threat and that their capture must be unfeasible before they can be hit with a drone. Isikoff noted that the interpretations of what a threat means are “a bit more elastic and open to interpretation” than previously known.
“They refer to a ‘broader concept of imminence’ than direct active intelligence of a plot against the US,” he said. “In fact, it explicitly states that imminence does not mean that the United States has to have clear evidence that a specific attack on US persons or interests is underway. If the US believes that the target has in the past been involved in such violent activities and the target has not renounced such activities it can be assumed that they are an imminent threat now and that that would justify an attack.” “The definition for why a capture [instead of a killing] is impractical also seems to be very, very wide,” Maddow said. End
“C-SPAN Washington Journal February 23, 2013 “State & Local Laws on Drones”
Ben Gielow, Association of Unmanned Vehicles International-General Counsel, talked about efforts by states and localities to impose legal limits on the use of domestically based surveillance drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). He talked about current federal laws that cover drones and if they are enough to keep pace with technology, and new attempts in Congress to further expand privacy protections. The Association supports defense, civil and commercial sectors.” Represents trade organizations that manufacture and sell UVS systems (drones), along with ground and maritime systems worldwide.
C-SPAN Video – March 20, 2013 – U.S. Senate Judiciary Hearing on “Aerial Drone Use in the United States”:
“Law enforcement, legal, and industry experts testified on the domestic use of unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.” The technology is here already and drones of all sizes and shapes are flying in the United States. The spying and surveillance capabilities exist in many cases and the law does not protect the rights of American citizens from this type of surveillance, problems when drones are in the same airspace as commercial airplane flights or small planes. And with multiple drones sizes, our X-Ray capabilities, tracking devices, the new technology of cameras, and listening devices we are now entering the world of a police state being created in the United States. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311620-1