By Cliff Montgomery – June 20th, 2012
The War Department (often euphemistically called the “Defense” Department) has singled out 110 sites in America which may be used as bases for drone flights on U.S. soil.
Some of these locations already serve as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) bases – others currently are potential locations. Regardless, the new study names each of the sites “and the UAS likely to fly at that location.”
The Pentagon’s choices are found in 39 of our 50 states – from Wyoming’s Camp Guernsey to Fort McClellan in Alabama. Sites in such U.S. ‘territories’ as Puerto Rico and Guam also are on the Department’s list.
As it now stands, the War Department has “88 active Certificates Of Authorization (COAs) at various locations around the country” that legally allow it to fly drones throughout parts of the U.S., according to the report. The Federal Aviation Administration grants these certificates.
It seems “the rapid increase in fielded UAS has created a strong demand for access within the NAS [National Airspace System] and international airspace. The demand for airspace to test new systems and train UAS operators has quickly exceeded the current airspace available for these activities,” declared the Pentagon report to Congress.
“This need for airspace access to test new systems, train operators, and conduct continental United States (CONVS)-based missions has quickly exceeded the current airspace available for military operations. The situation will only be exacerbated as units return from overseas contingencies,” the study added.
“UAS will not achieve their full potential military utility unless they can go where manned aircraft go with the same freedom of navigation, responsiveness, and flexibility,” claimed the new report.
All this makes an honest person wonder if the so-called ‘War on Terror’ is really a war on us – that is to say, everyone who isn’t wealthy, military brass or a politician.
Whatever the case, one thing’s clear: We can’t expect an ounce of civil rights protection from U.S. Senate bosses. That chamber’s Armed Services Committee has gleefully shrieked in its FY2013 defense authorization act study that drone flights should occur “freely and routinely” on U.S. soil.
But perhaps all is not lost on the legislative front. U.S. House Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) recently introduced a bill “to protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles.” A companion Senate bill has been introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
