Cassi Creek:
The drone wars have already begun.
They hinge around the ability to collect information from protected
spaces by deploying highly capable unmanned aircraft able to mine information
by means of multiple sensor platforms.
The U.S. has been in the lead developing these platforms but the
technology that enables stealthy flight
is not a secret. Once anyone
builds a stealth platform, the physics have been broadcast to any military or
civilian agency that is willing to invest the time and money.
These
spy platforms are not truly drones. They
are capable of automated linger and look patterns, programmed penetration
flights, and human directed and controlled hands-on missions. The term drone initially referred to an
aircraft used for target purposes by manned aircraft.
The
expense of these programs must be weighed against the cost in lives and
hardware that would result if we flew these missions using humans in the
cockpit. The hardware is horribly
expensive. Pilots and aircrew are even
more expensive and take longer to replace.
The nature of the control programs that are being used by trained pilots
to fly UAVs remotely is approaching the point where UAV controllers may not
need to be trained pilots.
The
current state of technology allows middle-school kids to build or buy small
remote-controlled aircraft. They have
limited lift capacity, limited loiter time, limited range, but can easily be
equipped with cameras and transmitters.
The potential for neighborhood espionage now must be considered as well
as the ongoing data mining taking place by NSA and other agencies targeting Americans
and other nationalities. The potential
court cases stemming from shooting down the kid next door’s camera-laden drone are going to be
fascinating as we throw away more and more of our privacy.
U.S.
seeks spy edge with stealth drone
CNN Pentagon
Correspondent Barbara Starr
It looks like a bat,
sweeping, turning. But it’s actually the new super-secret Air Force stealth
drone.
CNN has learned this
unmanned spy plane is designed to fly for up to 24 hours behind enemy
lines in countries like North Korea, Iran, and Syria.
No comments:
Post a Comment