Drones

US Drones Continue ‘Massive’ Operations In Third Day Of Attacks

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US Air Force photo

– US Drones Continue ‘Massive’ Operations in Third Day of Attacks (Common Dreams, April 21, 2014):

Flurry of strikes continues

A suspected U.S. drone strike hit Yemen on Monday morning, the third such attack in as many days, killing people described as “militants” as part of “massive and unprecedented” operations targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

According to reporting by the Associated Press, the most recent strike “targeted the mountainous area of Mahfad between the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa,” located in the southern part of the impoverished country.

Neither the number of casualties nor who they are is clear at this point.

Read moreUS Drones Continue ‘Massive’ Operations In Third Day Of Attacks

The Truthseeker: Regime Change America (Video)

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Added: Apr 6, 2014

Description:

#WaveOfAction started April 4 the day Martin Luther King was assassinated by US government; military scorns drone operators as ‘cowardly button pushers’, troops refuse to man killer UAVs; America ‘not really a democracy at all’.

Seek truth from facts with Regime Change Begins at Home author Professor Charles Derber; Center on Conscience & War counseling coordinator Bill Galvin; lawyer Kevin Zeese; Banker Occupation author Stephen Lendman; peace activist Professor Michael Nagler; and former drone pilot Brandon Bryant.

U.S. Navy Drones With A Mind Of Their Own – A $100 MILLION Program

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– Navy Drones With a Mind of Their Own (Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2014):

Newly Unveiled Technology Runs on Tablet App, Enables Unmanned Aircraft to Choose Flight Routes and Landing Sites

WASHINGTON—Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder has positioned himself to become the Jeff Bezos of the Pentagon.

Much as the Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -3.18% founder envisions mini-drones that deliver small packages across America, Adm. Klunder, the Navy’s research chief, wants to create innovative unmanned helicopters able to perform tasks now carried out by humans: resupplying troops in remote areas and rescuing wounded Marines from the battlefield.

His plan is moving ahead, and Navy officials will unveil new technology Saturday that with the push of a button allows helicopters—manned or unmanned—to choose their own routes, take off and land.

The Navy views the five-year, $100 million program as a major advance in the Pentagon’s hopes for taking the “manned out of unmanned” aircraft. Over the next decade, the military is aiming to create autonomous drones that can help soldiers carry out night raids, search oceans for trouble, and select targets for attack.This is “truly leap-ahead technology,” Adm. Klunder said of the new autonomous helicopter advances.

Read moreU.S. Navy Drones With A Mind Of Their Own – A $100 MILLION Program

Military Drone Crashes Near Pennsylvania Elementary School

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– Military drone crashes near Pennsylvania elementary school (RT, April 5, 2014):

A nearly 400-pound unmanned aerial vehicle crash-landed near an elementary school in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon, irritating members of the community and alarming civil liberties advocates nervous about drones flying over the US.

The drone, an RQ-7 Shadow, is 11 feet long with a 14 foot wingspan. Why it was flying in the air above Lickdale Elemantary School is unknown, but Major Ed Shank, a public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard, told Les Stewart of the Lebanon Daily News that drones operate out of Fort Indiantown Gap, an Army post in Lebanon County.

The 375-pound craft endured what officials called a “hard landing” before being run over by a civilian vehicle. No one was hurt in the incident, but the drone – reportedly worth $150,000 – was a “total loss” and rendered useless after slamming into the ground.

Read moreMilitary Drone Crashes Near Pennsylvania Elementary School

UN Adopts Pakistan Resolution Against Drone Strikes, Discards US Objection

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UN adopts Pakistan resolution against drone strikes, discards US objection

– UN adopts Pakistan resolution against drone strikes, discards US objection (Pakistan Today, March 29, 2014):

The United Nations late Friday adopted a resolution, jointly presented by Pakistan, Yemen and Switzerland, against drone strikes, a private news channel reported on Saturday.

Six countries including United States, France and Britain voted against the resolution, but they fell short in majority to get it disposed off.

According to sources, the UN called on all states to ensure that the use of armed drones complies with international law, backing a proposal from Pakistan seen as taking aim at the United States.

Read moreUN Adopts Pakistan Resolution Against Drone Strikes, Discards US Objection

US Drone ‘Intercepted’ Over Crimea By Russian ‘Self-Defense’ Forces

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– US Drone “Intercepted” Over Crimea By Russian ‘Self-Defense’ Forces (ZeroHedge, March 14, 2014):

An American scout-attack drone, “almost invisible at a height of 4000 meters” has, according to AFP, been intercepted in the Crimean sky. Reports from the Russian state arms and technology group Rostec stated, judging by side-markings it was an MQ-5B drone – which is likely part of the 66th US Recon Brigade based in Bavaria. It was possible to break the drone’s link with its American operators with the help of the EW (electronic warfare) complex Avtobaza. As a result, the device made an emergency landing and passed into the possession of the self-defense forces almost unbroken.”

US Drone Intercepted Over Crimea By Russian Self-Defense Forces

Via AFP,

An American scout-attack drone was intercepted in the Crimean sky, the Rostec state corporation reports. “Judging by side marking, the MQ-5B drone was part of the 66th US brigade of military intelligence with the main location in Bavaria,” the report on the website of the corporation reads.

Read moreUS Drone ‘Intercepted’ Over Crimea By Russian ‘Self-Defense’ Forces

It’s Exactly What It Sounds Like: Watch A Stun Gun Drone Tase An Intern (Video)

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Most stupid is the new ‘most fearless’.

– Watch A Stun Gun Drone Tase An Intern (Popular Science, March 7, 2014):

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

Chaotic Moon Studios, a startup making, uh, about anything you can think of, invited me to their Austin offices today during South By Southwest to check out a live demonstration of a stun gun-loaded drone. Obviously, I came.

The gentleman here is an intern named Jackson, who is the most fearless person I have ever encountered. He got stunned like a pro.

The drone, Chaotic Moon says, could be used to incapacitate criminals. It’s menacing enough already, but maybe we could put a police siren on it one day, just to get the full effect.

PM Tony Abbott: Fleet Of Drones To Patrol Australia’s Borders

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Australias Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced a fleet of unmanned drones will patrol Australias borders
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced a fleet of unmanned drones will patrol Australia’s borders.

– Fleet of drones to patrol Australia’s borders (New Zealand Herald/AFP, March 13, 2014):

Australia has announced plans for a fleet of giant high-tech unmanned drones to help patrol the nation’s borders, monitoring energy infrastructure and attempts to enter the country illegally.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Triton Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which can remain airborne for 33 hours, would be based in the southern city of Adelaide.

A report in February said seven of the US-made drones would be purchased for Aus$3 billion, but Abbott said the details of how many and when had yet to be finalised.

Read morePM Tony Abbott: Fleet Of Drones To Patrol Australia’s Borders

Ukrainian Drone Captures Video Of Russian Troops Fortifying In The Crimea

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– Ukrainian Drone Captures Video Of Russian Troops Fortifying In The Crimea (ZeroHedge, March 9, 2014):

The only thing that is unclear about the following clip released by the Ukraine’s Border Guard supposedly capturing Russians “digging in” on a key route linking Crimea to the rest of the Ukraine, is what is funnier: that the Russian soldier is “painting” the drone with a laser flashlight, or that according to the Ukrainians said action was evidence the drone was being “shot at” by Russian soldiers.

As a follow up, here is another video made by a Ukrainian drone showing the distribution of Russian forces on the peninsula.

Friendly Fire: US Drone Strike Kills Five Afghan Soldiers

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– Friendly Fire: US Drone Strike Kills Five Afghan Soldiers (Antiwar, March 6, 2014):

The Pentagon has confirmed launching a drone strike against the Logar Province of Afghanistan today, hitting their allies in a case of mistaken identity. The strike kill five Afghan National Army soldiers, and wounded eight others.

…

Obama Violated His Own Rules With Yemen Drone Strike (Video)

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YouTube Added: Feb 21, 2014

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President Barack Obama violated his own rules for the use of drone strikes in a December 2013 strike on a wedding procession in Yemen, a new report from Human Rights Watch says. The US military initially claimed that the procession was actually members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, then admitted it was a wedding procession, but claimed that most of the people killed in the attack were members of the terrorist organization. But Human Rights Watch says, “The procession also may have included members of AQAP, although it is not clear who they were or what was their fate.” The group went on to say that there is no evidence that members of the caravan posed an imminent threat, and that killing them was a violation of international human rights laws. RT’s Meghan Lopez speaks with investigative journalist Ben Swann about US drone policy and whether the attack was a violation of Obama’s own stated rules.

US Considering New Drone Bases In Central Asia

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– US considering new drone bases in Central Asia (RT, Feb 17, 2014):

To continue counterterrorism operations abroad after the imminent exit of American troops from Afghanistan, the United States is reportedly pursuing plans to put US drones inside air bases in Central Asia.

The Department of Defense is expected to withdraw all or most of the US soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, significantly shrinking the size of the Pentagon’s physical footprint there for the first time in over 12 years. Along with eliminating boots on the ground, though, the US will also be walking away from the bases that for years have housed the unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, that are responsible for administering lethal missile strikes against suspected insurgents in neighboring Pakistan.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the US is considering moving their drones to air bases elsewhere in Central Asia. Amidst international condemnation, however, relocating the controversial program is likely to come not without opposition.

Read moreUS Considering New Drone Bases In Central Asia

Navy’s UCLASS Could Be Air To Air Fighter … ‘As A Robotic Wingman Of Sorts’

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– Navy’s UCLASS Could Be Air to Air Fighter (USNI News, Feb 13, 2014):

Could the U.S. Navy’s future Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft have an air-to-air role? The service’s director of air warfare Rear Adm. Mike Manazir posed that it could during a Dec. 20 interview with USNI News.

Manazir contemplated the possibility that that the UCLASS, which is primarily being designed for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike roles, could be used as a flying missile magazine which could supplement the firepower of the F/A-18E/F and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter in air-to-air combat as a robotic wingman of sorts.

Read moreNavy’s UCLASS Could Be Air To Air Fighter … ‘As A Robotic Wingman Of Sorts’

Jeremy Scahill And Glenn Greenwald: The NSA’s Secret Role In The U.S. Assassination Program

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– The NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program (The Intercept, Feb 10, 2014):

By Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald

The National Security Agency is using complex analysis of electronic surveillance, rather than human intelligence, as the primary method to locate targets for lethal drone strikes – an unreliable tactic that results in the deaths of innocent or unidentified people.

According to a former drone operator for the military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) who also worked with the NSA, the agency often identifies targets based on controversial metadata analysis and cell-phone tracking technologies. Rather than confirming a target’s identity with operatives or informants on the ground, the CIA or the U.S. military then orders a strike based on the activity and location of the mobile phone a person is believed to be using.

Read moreJeremy Scahill And Glenn Greenwald: The NSA’s Secret Role In The U.S. Assassination Program

NEW ARGUS Drone Technology ‘Equivalent To The Capabilities Of 100 Predator Drones’

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– New drone technology “equivalent to the capabilities of 100 Predator drones” (Police State USA, Feb 8, 2014):

To understand the extent to which the federal government has the ability to spy on us, we must attempt to understand the technologies it has at its disposal.  Through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Department has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on one particular project alone.  Known as ARGUS, it is a surveillance platform with the capability to maintain continuous 24/7 surveillance, day or night; able to track multiple moving targets miles apart in high definition without refocusing the camera; and with a resolution so astounding that it can detect objects as small as a cellular phone from several miles in the sky.  It quite literally provides ubiquitous surveillance over a whole city from one drone.

“This is the next generation of surveillance,” said Yiannis Antonaides, an engineer for BAE Systems who led the design of the project.   “It is important for the public to know that some of these capabilities exist.”

Read moreNEW ARGUS Drone Technology ‘Equivalent To The Capabilities Of 100 Predator Drones’

Jesse Ventura Goes Off Grid ‘So The Drones Can’t Find Me’

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FYI.

– Jesse Ventura goes off grid ‘so the drones can’t find me’ (RT, Feb 5, 2014):

Surveillance drones haven’t started hovering outside and above the homes of Americans en masse just yet, but former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura claims he’s left the United States just in case.

Ventura, a 62-year-old professional wrestler-turned-politician, says his new Ora TV program ‘Off the Grid’ is being filmed in secret somewhere in Mexico where the all-seeing eye of American unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, don’t have a chance of finding him.

Read moreJesse Ventura Goes Off Grid ‘So The Drones Can’t Find Me’

Over 300 U.S. Drone Strikes In Pakistan Since 2006 – Leaked Official Data

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Winning more hearts and minds …

Supporters of Difa-e-Pakistan Council, an Islamic organization, burn U.S. flag during protest against U.S. drone attacks in Pakistani tribal region, in Karachi

– Over 300 US drone strikes in Pakistan since 2006 – leaked official data (RT, Jan 30, 2014):

Top-secret documentation collected by Pakistani field officers gives detailed information on 330 US drone strikes that have occurred in Pakistan since 2006. The CIA-run program is estimated to have killed 2,371 people.

From solitary individuals riding on horseback to mountain hideouts crammed with people, the CIA drone program has had no shortage of targets in the Islamic Republic, according to newly released information obtained by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

Read moreOver 300 U.S. Drone Strikes In Pakistan Since 2006 – Leaked Official Data

The U.S. Navy’s New Submarine Drone (Video)

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– Here’s The Underwater Drone The Navy Will Use To Spy On Enemy Submarines (Business Insider, Jan 14, 2014):

Drones don’t just fly in the sky. They’ll soon be patrolling the ocean. The US Navy recently announced a contract worth $203.7M for marine technology developer Teledyne Benthos to repurpose the Slocum Glider as an instrument used for military activity.

Read moreThe U.S. Navy’s New Submarine Drone (Video)

Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton: Navy’s Boeing 757-Sized Drone Will Provide Big-Time Surveillance

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– Navy’s 757-Sized Drone Will Provide Big-Time Surveillance (Wired, Jan 7, 2014):

A new drone with the mammoth wingspan of a Boeing 757 is set to give the U.S. Navy some serious surveillance power.

Northrop Grumman and the Navy say they’ve just completed the ninth flight trial of the Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS), an improvement upon its predecessor in the Air Force, the Global Hawk.

Read moreNorthrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton: Navy’s Boeing 757-Sized Drone Will Provide Big-Time Surveillance

U.S. Military Drones Set To Get Stronger Chemical Weapons And Could Soon Make Their OWN Decisions During Missions

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The U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) revealed its Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, which includes plans for drones that can swarm, deviate from a set mission and carry stronger chemical weapons. A current MQ-9 Reaper drone used in Afghanistan is pictured

– Military drones set to get stronger chemical weapons and could soon make their OWN decisions during missions (Daily Mail Jan 2, 2014):

  • The U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) revealed its Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, setting out its technology aims for the next 25 years
  • Its plans include drone-bombs that can hunt in ‘swarms’ from a mothership
  • Next-generation unmanned aircraft will likely be equipped with better sensors and navigational equipment, plus superior autonomous systems

Drones that can choose to deviate from a set mission and hunt in ‘swarms’ could be patrolling skies within the next 25 years, according to a new roadmap.

Unmanned aircraft carrying stronger chemical weapons could also be on the horizon, the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) revealed in its Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap.

Read moreU.S. Military Drones Set To Get Stronger Chemical Weapons And Could Soon Make Their OWN Decisions During Missions

Insider On What Really Happens In The U.S. Drone Program

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From the article:

“One example comes to mind: “The feed is so pixelated, what if it’s a shovel, and not a weapon?” I felt this confusion constantly, as did my fellow UAV analysts. We always wonder if we killed the right people, if we endangered the wrong people, if we destroyed an innocent civilian’s life all because of a bad image or angle.”

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– This is What Really Happens in the Drone Program from an Insider (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Dec 30, 2013):

Over the weekend, Heather Linebaugh wrote a powerful Op-ed in The Guardian newspaper lamenting the lack of public understanding regarding the American drone program. Heather should know what she’s talking about, she served in the United Stated Air Force from 2009 until March 2012. She worked in intelligence as an imagery and geo-spatial analyst for the drone program during the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here are some key excerpts from her article:

Read moreInsider On What Really Happens In The U.S. Drone Program

Obama’s New Normal: The Drone Strikes

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I have a drone

– Obama’s New Normal: The Drone Strikes (Nation of Change, Dec 24, 2013):

There has been yet another violent attack with mass casualties. This was not the act of a lone gunman, or of an armed student rampaging through a school. It was a group of families en route to a wedding that was killed. The town was called Radda—not in Colorado, not in Connecticut, but in Yemen. The weapon was not an easy-to-obtain semiautomatic weapon, but missiles fired from U.S. drones. On Thursday, Dec. 12, 17 people were killed, mostly civilians. The London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism has consistently tracked U.S. drone attacks, recently releasing a report on the six months following President Barack Obama’s major address on drone warfare before the National Defense University (NDU) last May. In that speech, Obama promised that “before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured—the highest standard we can set.” The BIJ summarized, “Six months after President Obama laid out U.S. rules for using armed drones, a Bureau analysis shows that covert drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan have killed more people than in the six months before the speech.” In a nation that abhors the all-too-routine mass killing in our communities, why does our government consistently kill so many innocents abroad?

Read moreObama’s New Normal: The Drone Strikes

Facing Triple-Dip Recession, France Set To Deploy US-Made Drones In West Africa

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– Facing Triple-Dip Recession, France Set To Deploy US-Made Drones In West Africa (ZeroHedge, Dec 19, 2013):

Take one serving of pre-triple dip recessionary France, add a dash of US-made drones, drop a pinch of Al Qaeda scapegoating and the now generic false flags, and let it all simmer in the latest global conflict in which the uninvited west has decided it is its moral role to intervene, and what you get is the latest hilarious development out of military superpower France, which is now preparing to unleash US drones in West Africa. The comedic possibilities one ends up with are countless.

Read moreFacing Triple-Dip Recession, France Set To Deploy US-Made Drones In West Africa