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It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s a Drone

Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Contributor for In Homeland Security

The US military is not the only ones fielding drones in the sky anymore. The National Guard, the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the DEA, ATF and even states will be among law enforcement agencies using drones for surveillance, investigations and criminal pursuits.

In Oregon, for example, a new bill will allow the usage of drones for law enforcement investigations, but only after a warrant is issued to gather evidence. The bill is on its way to the governor who intends to sign it into law.

It is important to remember that not all drones are the same. The military is famous for using the MQ-1 Predator drones to take out suspected terrorists overseas. The MQ-9 unarmed versions have been used along the border by various agencies.

The FBI admits to using the PUMA AE (a hand thrown mini UAV that the US Army used in Afghanistan to track down insurgents). The Draganflyer X6 is a mini helicopter drone sold to the public.

Companies are making profits. New fields of study at schools are issuing drone programs. Farmers are using them. Scientists are using them. Hobbyists are using them. So it is not just the government at work and they do not have only one function or purpose. In America, everyone is trying to take advantage of the new trend.

A drones domestic uses can range from surveillance, science, emergency response, photography, and even to personal hobby. Right now the fear is government uses and privacy but another is: Can we afford to flood our skies full of UAVs?

Last year a Global Hawk fell from the sky and crashed down on US soil. So safety is also a concern.

That same year, the FAA encouraged public safety agencies to enter into the domestic drone enterprise by making lighter (25 pounds or less) UAV operation permissible without special permission. Drones must fly no more than 400 feet in the air, away from airports and within the sight of the operator at all times. These are effectively the same rules for model airplane enthusiasts.

How would the FAA enforce its rules among drone chaos in the sky?

Illicit drones are also on rising on the scene. An activist’s homemade mini UAV in Turkey is telling of what is in-store for the US dissidents. Already there are people in the US who argue that they should have the right to shoot down surveillance drones.

Reportedly there are tens of thousands of drones in use in America. Some of those might be illegally spying on their neighbors, among other things. The FAA commercial permits are not scheduled until 2015.

Currently, drones can be an empowering information tool for whoever uses them. Right now, most are just innovative mini remote controlled aerial systems with the addition of a video camera that allows one to record and watch in real-time. In the future, we might envision the grim reality of domestic attacks using older re-engineered military drone technology. Such platforms could carry weapons and effectively be acts of reprisal on US citizens similar to US intelligence and military targeting missions overseas.

Not enough are aware of terrorist reprisal or potential militant efforts using drone technology but a few have cautioned about their rapid proliferation overseas. Domestic defense drones would then be a natural response for public safety. The need to spot and kill inbound drones over critical infrastructure will likely be a future threat scenario; however, the arming of domestic drones, even for defensive purposes, is more than controversial at this time. Fortunately, those planned attacks using UAVs and explosives have thus far been thwarted [from the ground] by US authorities.

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