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Spy-in-the-sky drone sets
sights on Miami
Tom Brown
Reuters
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Miami police could soon be the first in the United States to
use cutting-edge, spy-in-the-sky technology to beef up their fight
against crime.
A small pilotless drone manufactured by Honeywell International,
capable of hovering and "staring" using electro-optic
or infrared sensors, is expected to make its debut soon in the
skies over the Florida Everglades.
If use of the drone wins Federal Aviation Administration approval
after tests, the Miami-Dade Police Department will start flying
the 14-pound (6.3 kg) drone over urban areas with an eye toward
full-fledged employment in crime fighting.
"Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations
as an extra set of eyes," said police department spokesman
Juan Villalba.
(Article continues below)
"We intend to use this to benefit us in carrying out our
mission," he added, saying the wingless Honeywell aircraft,
which fits into a backpack and is capable of vertical takeoff
and landing, seems ideally suited for use by SWAT teams in hostage
situations or dealing with "barricaded subjects."
Miami-Dade police are not alone, however.
Taking their lead from the U.S. military, which has used drones
in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, law enforcement agencies across
the country have voiced a growing interest in using drones for
domestic crime-fighting missions.
Known in the aerospace industry as UAVs, for unmanned aerial
vehicles, drones have been under development for decades in the
United States.
The CIA acknowledges that it developed a dragonfly-sized UAV
known as the "Insectohopter" for laser-guided spy operations
as long ago as the 1970s.
And other advanced work on robotic flyers has clearly been under
way for quite some time.
"The FBI is experimenting with a variety of unmanned aerial
vehicles," said Marcus Thomas, an assistant director of the
bureau's Operational Technology Division.
"At this point they have been used mainly for search and
rescue missions," he added. "It certainly is an up-and-coming
technology and the FBI is researching additional uses for UAVs."
Full
article here.
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