And the government wants to start using them for surveillance around the country?
What if one crashes into your home?
"Navy drone aircraft crashes in Maryland swamp" Associated Press, June 12, 2012
NANTICOKE, Md. - A Navy drone aircraft crashed on
Maryland’s Eastern Shore on Monday without injuries or property damage
on the ground, officials said.
The 44-foot plane on a routine training flight crashed around noon
near Bloodsworth Island, across the Chesapeake Bay from the Patuxent
River Naval Air Station, according to Jaime Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for
the Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons program.
Aerial video from WBOC-TV showed a plane-shaped indentation
surrounded by burning debris at the swampy crash site. The cause is
being investigated and the Coast Guard has set up a safety zone around
the crash site, officials said.
That is so weird because of what we saw in a Pennsylvania field on 9/11.
The
Northrop Grumman RQ-4A BAMS-D drone has a range of 10,500 nautical
miles and can reach 11 miles above the ground. It can stay in the air
for more than 30 hours with speeds up to 391 miles per hour, according
to the Navy.
The drone is operated by a crew of four on the ground. It is one of
five acquired from the Air Force that support more than half of maritime
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.
They have flown more than 5,500 hours in support of combat operations
since 2008. The surveillance aircraft have been used in support of the
Fifth Fleet, which covers much of the Middle East, including the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and part of the east African coast.
The southern Maryland station at the mouth of the Patuxent River, 65
miles southeast of Washington, is home to the Navy’s test pilot school,
drone operations, and principal research center for aircraft and support
systems.
--more--"
