A Day at Work for a Drone Pilot
BBC Radio 4`s Broadcasting House programme has gained a rare insight into a day at work with a US drone pilot who flies predator missions into Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Lt Col Bruce Black said that there was a separation between one reality and the other: "When you are sitting in the box flying one of these things, you lose sense of the fact you are sitting in Nevada."
US drones have been targeting militants in Pakistan`s tribal areas for almost a decade.
It is estimated that up to 3,000 people have died as a result of the strikes.
Soon, Drones May Be Able to Make Lethal Decisions on Their Own
The basic conceit behind a LAR is that it can outperform and outthink a human operator. "If a drone`s system is sophisticated enough, it could be less emotional, more selective and able to provide force in a way that achieves a tactical objective with the least harm," said Purdue University Professor Samuel Liles. "A lethal autonomous robot can aim better, target better, select better, and in general be a better asset with the linked ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] packages it can run."
Is the U.S. Officially Moving Away From Drone Strikes?
You may have noticed something peculiar about the two military operations against two terrorism suspects this weekend: neither involved drone strikes in any way. This is the new norm, apparently: special forces raids are the President`s preferred option now.
Not Just Killing Machines: Drones Can Save Lives, Too
Drones have certainly developed a bad reputation of late. The unmanned aircraft have become known for their potential to take life. But if used properly, drones can save lives.
Surveillance and transportation drones are being used in countries such the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Sudan and South Sudan to help solve problems facing residents, from lack of infrastructure to warlords committing crimes against humanity. A panel of experts discussed the potential of drones to bring peace at the 2013 Social Good Summit on Monday.
Global Hawk Monitors Hurricane Eye Wall Development
NASA is using converted military drones to monitor hurricanes.
The Global Hawk UAV flies over Hurricane Karl to reveal a hot tower. Red shows reflectivity that is 12 km from the surface, orange is 10 km, yellow is 7.5 km, green is 6 km, and blue is under 6 km.This movie shows the eyewall of the storm develop as the UAV monitors from above.
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