Military May Use Unmanned Aircraft For Homeland Defense Missions

Inside Defense ^ | October 24, 2001 | Chris Strohm

[chainsaw]

How about an unmanned satelite, which we already have plenty of. No need for Germans manning our AWAC planes either.

[MoJo2001]

AMEN to that!! Less foreigner pilots flying in our airspace for our "homeland defense" and more American ideas and people to do it!

[DWSUWF]

"...However, Carmona noted that flying armed UAVs over the United States might not be acceptable to the public..."

Yuh 'spose?

[Beenliedto]

Yuh 'spose?

Yep! Real bad idea... We'd see somthin' shot down sure as can be! This thing gets more Orwellian by the minute!

[Straight Vermonter]

You have to wonder how many of our wives and daughter, simply enjoying themselves sunbathing etc, will become video fun for the operators of these planes.

[SLB]

Unmanned satelites are limited in the amount of time they actually spend over a target. Usually they make one or two passes over the same part of the terrain only once or twice a day. A UAV can loiter over the same few square feet for hours. Add a Hellfire to that loiter time and ???????? (A heck of a deer rifle for logos - grin)

[WyldKard]

Why does this all sound like a bad episode of "Dark Angel"?

Christ, this is frightening.

[SLB]

You have to wonder how many of our wives and daughter, simply enjoying themselves sunbathing etc, will become video fun for the operators of these planes.

A little personal story about this. Several years ago I left active duty and joined the National Guard and went off to Ft Campbell, KY for our two week annual training. Being the good soldiers we were, we went straight to a field location and set up a nice headquarters site to include a field shower using a screen latrine for the sides (this leaves the top open). The first sergeant set up a shower schedule that had the males showering during the day and females at night. The second or third night we were there the number of helicopters flying over us after dark was amazing. We needed air traffic control to keep them from hitting each other. The first sergeant didn't get it until I explained a little about night vision devices to him. The next night he changed the schedules and I guess the aviation unit didn't have any female pilots as the amount of air traffic dropped off immediately.

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Boom boom boom. The muffled drums beat as the condemned nation shuffles to its doom. Link to posse comitatus discussion.

[Elsie]

It's a Bird!

It's a Plane!

It's Big Brother!

[harpseal]

Add a Hellfire to that loiter time and ???????? (A heck of a deer rifle for logos - grin)

Loaded for bear!!!

I really do not have enough information to make a judgement on using unmanned UAV's over American soil, I can see some exellent uses for this but I also see dangers. The devil will as always be in the details of how it would be employed.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Squantos]

AGM-114 on a UAV in CONUS Airspace ?!??!?

I vote NO ! UAV for LEO's and intell gathering ?? I'm OK with that as I have nothing to hide. But first time the data collected is misused or given out to any commercial venue or used for anything other than preventing a criminal act, you may as well make me President as I'm gonna "own" the equal to his 8 years of pay anyhow via a court of law minimum.

I don't like the personal invasion by terrorist or my LEO's. I do support the need better intelligence gathering within and without the CONUS. But if you and I know where these vermin dwell and if given authority to engage them and remove them as a threat to the citizens of this great country............why can't Uncle Sugar do the same ?

We are at war, criminals have rights, invaders bent on terrorism or subversive seditious activities DO NOT IMHO. One who enters this country legaly with the intended purpose of education or vacation or legit business is a guest with the right to due process if they make a mistake and break a law unknowingly. If they are here illegally or entered under false pretense then they are invaders. The only protection I see them getting is from an international court and prison system on a remote island in the atlantic/pacific somewhere, Azores or Johnson island are good choices IMHO.

Modern day devils Island scenerio for all terrorists who get lucky enough not to be shot outright by law abidding citizens or GI's/LEO's who catch em in the act.

Armed UAV's........again I vote NO WAY ! Stay Safe !

[Elsie]

make me President as I'm gonna "own" the equal to his 8 years of pay

You ain't gonna 'own' crap!

You KNOW that the 'authorities' get a pass on this kind of stuff..........

[Squantos]

Moooooo !

[Elsie]

You sayin' my response was an udder failure?

or that it moooved you to tears!

[Squantos]

LOL ....Always enjoy your stuff.

Stay Safe !

[Elsie]

I was in your part of the world back in July.

I made a right turn at Shamrock (on the way to Utah) and visited the ranch where parts of CASTAWAY was filmed. (I'm a detail nut and observed that the note Hanks had written [to leave in the front door] was NOT on FED EX paper, but on Arrington Ranch letterhead)

[Squantos]

You were about 50 miles from me there. Ya can see the actual curve of the earth here. My Dad used to say ......it's the only place on earth where one can stand on a five gallon bucket with a pair of binoculars and see the back of their own head :o) .......... Hope ya had a good time, let me know next time and I'll buy you and yours a steak !

Stay Safe !

[300winmag]

I really do not have enough information to make a judgement on using unmanned UAV's over American soil, I can see some exellent uses for this but I also see dangers. The devil will as always be in the details of how it would be employed.

I can't see a legitimate use for UAVs, armed or unarmed, over America. The idea behind a UAV is to avoid risking live pilots over hostile territory. While we do have hidden enemies on the ground, they are not shooting at aircraft. They don't have troop movements on the ground, and they aren't broadcasting electronic signals that UAVs might pick up.

What exactly could these UAVs discover, and why are they floating a trial balloon about arming them? About the only thing they'd be good for is keeping an eye on "militias" and "religious (Christian) extremists" out in the countryside, like Waco. We already know that klinton is sending his buttboys out saying the anthrax is "right wing", and this UAV business seems to dovetail nicely with that blood libel.