drones

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Air Force Plane, Drone Collide
 Air Force Plane, Drone Collide 
Aug 17, 2011 8:49 AM CDT

Air Force Plane, Drone Collide

Accident renews criticisms of using drones in civilian airspace

(Newser) - A C-130 cargo plane made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, after colliding with a 12-foot-by-20-foot RQ-7 Shadow unmanned drone, reports the Wall Street Journal . The cargo plane was only slightly damaged and none of its crew was injured, but the incident is expected to step up criticisms...

China Scrambling to Build Its Own Drones

The rest of the world is eager to catch up to US

(Newser) - The showstopper at this year’s Zhuhai air show in China doesn’t need a pilot. Visitors were shown a video of the WJ-600 drone finding and transmitting targeting info on something that looked suspiciously like a US aircraft carrier near an island that looked suspiciously like Taiwan, the Washington ...

Is It Really Okay to Kill Terrorists With Robots?
Is It Really OK to Kill
Terrorists With Robots?
Eugene Robinson
Jul 1, 2011 11:38 AM CDT

Is It Really OK to Kill Terrorists With Robots?

Eugene Robinson worries that we've crossed an ethical line

(Newser) - The war on terror is increasingly being fought by robot assassins. President Obama has stepped up the use of drones to kill terrorists, taking out targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. “I am convinced that this method of waging war is cost-effective but not that it...

US Drones Strike Somalia
 US Drones 
 Strike Somalia 
Jun 30, 2011 1:23 AM CDT

US Drones Strike Somalia

Al-Shabab leaders hit as our drones move into sixth nation

(Newser) - US drones have moved into yet another nation, this time targeting two men linked to al-Qaeda in Somalia. The strike last week succeeded in wounding the men who are among leaders of the insurgent Islamist group al-Shabab who are collaborating closely with al-Qaeda to organize operations beyond Somalia, according to...

Military at Work on Bug-Sized Drones

'Spy flies' expected by 2030 as drones take ever-bigger war role

(Newser) - Predators are just the beginning: The US military is building drones of all shapes, imitating bugs and birds not only in flight techniques but also in tiny size. An Ohio Air Force base has a flight lab known as the “microaviary,” where experts study “how you hide...

CIA Launching Yemen Drone Strikes

Program modeled after Pakistan strikes

(Newser) - The CIA will soon begin launching drone strikes against al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, where months of unrest have left the political landscape in chaos. The CIA strikes will expand upon those carried out in the country by the US military since 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the Yemeni...

WikiLeaks Cables: Pakistan Urged Drone Strikes

Top newspaper publishes diplomatic cache

(Newser) - Pakistani officials didn’t just accept US drone strikes in the country—they pushed for them, according to WikiLeaks’ latest batch of US diplomatic cables. The cables, published in top Pakistani newspaper Dawn , detail a conversation between a US diplomat and top Pakistani official in which the official suggests the...

New Drones Stalked bin Laden for Months

Flying at a high altitude, they were able to evade radar

(Newser) - For months prior to the May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the CIA was flying dozens of secret missions in Pakistani airspace using a new stealth drone to monitor his compound. The sophisticated aircraft, designed to fly at high altitudes, evaded radar detection and went beyond the bounds...

US' Next Big Weapon: Sea-Based Drones

One official says some will ultimately be deployed in Asia

(Newser) - The US is developing aircraft carrier-based drones that could provide a crucial edge as it tries to counter China's military rise. American officials have been tightlipped about where the unmanned armed planes might be used, but a top Navy officer has told the AP that some would likely be...

Spy Plane Can Be Flown by Pilot—or Act as Drone

2-in-1 aircraft Firebird could save US military money

(Newser) - Northrop Grumman’s latest aircraft isn’t just a drone—nor is it only designed for manned flight. The Firebird, set for unveiling today, can do both with just a few modifications, the Los Angeles Times reports. From 30,000 feet in the air, the spy plane can eavesdrop on...

Obama OKs Armed Predator Drones in Libya

Unmanned craft will take out Gadhafi targets

(Newser) - President Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya to improve the precision of low-level attacks on ground targets, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today. The first Predator mission was flown today, but the unmanned aircraft—armed with Hellfire missiles—turned back early because of poor...

Drones Could Usher in &#39; Terminator Reality&#39;
 Drones Could Usher in 
 'Terminator Reality' 
uk report
Apr 18, 2011 12:29 PM CDT

Drones Could Usher in 'Terminator Reality'

British Ministry of Defense urges caution in use of unmanned aircraft

(Newser) - As unmanned drones become more widely used, the British Ministry of Defense is concerned that we are on a path toward "a Terminator-like reality," it says in a new study. The use of unmanned aircraft raises serious moral and legal questions, and the report warns that we must...

2 US Troops Killed in Drone Friendly Fire

Military probing Afghanistan deaths

(Newser) - Two American servicemen were killed in Afghanistan last week in what is believed to be the first case of friendly fire deaths involving a Predator drone. The pair were killed by a Hellfire missile after Marines under fire called in a strike, military officials tell NBC. The Marines were viewing...

Predator Drones Taking Out... Foot Soldiers?

One estimate claims 94% of those killed are low-level militants

(Newser) - As the CIA increases the number of drone attacks in Pakistan, more militants are being killed—but of those militants, few appear on a list of most-wanted terrorists. The number of noteworthy leaders being killed by the Predator strikes appears to be dropping, or barely increasing, year by year. Last...

Navy's New Stealth Drone Makes Maiden Flight

X-47B can take off and land from aircraft carrier

(Newser) - The US Navy says the next big leap forward in unmanned aerial warfare has successfully made its first flight. The robotic, bat-winger X-47B drone is designed to take off and land from aircraft carriers, a feat described as one of the most difficult in aviation. The military hopes the technology...

US Testing Next Generation of Spy Drones

Stealthy new planes can fly higher and faster than before

(Newser) - Last week, the US ran a secret test of an experimental spy plane that could revolutionize the war in Afghanistan. The $30 million plane, dubbed the Global Observer, has a wingspan almost as long as a Boeing 747, and can fly at stratospheric heights for days, keeping its “unblinking...

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone
Miami Police
Buy Spy Drone
Jan 7, 2011 11:15 AM CST

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone

Some residents have privacy concerns

(Newser) - Soon, America’s fearsome spy drones will prowl the sky in Kandahar, Waziristan, and … South Beach? The Miami-Dade Police Department has struck a deal to buy a drone, WSN-TV reports. Many residents aren’t particularly happy about this, but police are eager to have “an eye up there,...

Air Force's New Drone 'Can See Everything'

Named after the Greek myth, but this Gorgon has 9 eyes

(Newser) - It's called Gorgon Stare, after the beast of Greek myth, but this Gorgon is a new Air Force surveillance system set to be deployed on drones in Afghanistan. With nine cameras that can send up to 65 different images to different users at once, Gorgon Stare takes cues from ESPN...

US Drones Hunt al-Qaeda in Yemen

US wary of Afghanistan-esque PR backlash, hasn't fired shots yet

(Newser) - In the wake of the failed Yemen mail bombs, the US is using a familiar weapon to hunt al-Qaeda in Yemen: The controversial Predator drone. Yet no shots have been fired thus far, reports the Washington Post, due to iffy intelligence on insurgents' whereabouts and American fears of re-creating the...

Software Lawsuit May Ground CIA's Drones

It could also explain why so many civilians are killed

(Newser) - One Massachusetts company is accusing another of pirating its software, which might not be be a big deal if that software didn't happen to be used in the CIA's Predator drones in Afghanistan. When a ruling comes down in December, it could ground the drone fleet indefinitely and put a...

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