The New Straits Times editorialized (11/14):
"The killing of six alleged al-Qaeda members in a Yemen desert by
an unmanned
CIA predator drone on Nov 3 has introduced a couple of new
dimensions to the
United States’ war on terror.
One, it suggests that targeted assassination in the name of war on
terror is
now a policy sanctioned by President George W. Bush. In short,
killing
specific individuals in countries where there is no war may very
well be the next
stage in the war on terror.
Two, the remote-control killing - which is a departure from the
conventions
of war - paves the way for what may be called robotics warfare.
And what would
be the rules in a warfare where drones, launched from another
country, are
used to eliminate "suspects" - unsuspecting souls in a no-war zone
- with a
shower of Hellfire missiles?
Then, there is the operational issue: where and from whom does the
US get the
information needed to identify and precisely track its targeted
victims?
Even if America does not believe the rule of law should be extended to
non-American citizens, innocents could have been killed for the
information may not
always be totally accurate. The implications are worrying. The US
can send a
laser-guided drone to fire a Hellfire missile (which would
instantly vaporize the
target) at any suspected terrorist anywhere. "
High hopes for drone in LA skies
By Peter Bowes
BBC News, Los Angeles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5051142.stm
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drone aircraft,
are about
to be launched for the first time by the police in Los Angeles.
The drone is quickly assembled and easily launched
UAVs have long been used by the military in war zones such as Iraq or
Afghanistan. But the technology has been adapted for domestic use
and could
revolutionise the way law enforcement agencies carry out
surveillance and rescue
operations.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) has been experimenting
with a
drone called SkySeer, which it intends to put into service later
this month.
SkySeer looks like a remotely controlled model aircraft. It has a
wingspan of
6.5 feet (1.98m) and weighs 4 pounds (1.81kg). A camera is attached
to its
belly and a small battery powers the drone.
'Almost invisible'
"It has a video link that sends data in real time down to our
ground station
- the operator can then see, in real time, what it's seeing,"
explains SkySeer
inventor Sam De La Torre, from Octatron Inc - a surveillance
technology firm.
The SkySeer has been designed for quick and easy use by police
officers on
the street. It can be folded up and stored like a tent in a backpack.
SkySeer can fly at speeds of 30mph (48 kph)
"Within five minutes he can have the aircraft assembled,' says Mr
De La Torre
"You just push the take-off button, the motor starts up and you
throw it."
The UAV can fly at any height. At 250 feet above the ground, it can
clear a
25-storey building and is almost invisible.
The Sheriff's Department is keen to start using the drone in
situations where
conventional crime-fighting is either impractical or too expensive.
At a cost of approximately $25,000 - $30,000 (£13,400 - £16,000),
the UAV is
considerably cheaper than a helicopter. But the device's practical
applications are generating the most excitement amongst officers.
Pinpointing victims
"It provides several things that we can't get other ways," says
Commander
Charles Heal, head of the LASD's technology exploration project.
The UAV's ability to hover in virtual silence over an accident or
crime
scene, without any risk to a pilot, provides both a tactical and
economic
advantage.
It is envisaged that SkySeer will be put to use when children go
missing down
a hillside in difficult terrain.
To save time and minimise the risk to rescuers, the UAV will be
used overhead
to pinpoint the location of a victim.
"It has different cameras - colour, low light and even infra-red -
and so as
a result of that we can even find heat signatures that are coming
through the
bushes and overhead," says Commander Heal.
With burglaries, the police say the SkySeer will be used get an
aerial view
of a building where someone is believed to have broken in through
the roof.
You simply point the camera at a suspect and keep following
Commander Charles Heal
head of LASD technology exploration project
The conventional approach is to call the fire department to bring
in ladder
trucks, allowing officers physically to climb onto the top of a
building.
"If the suspect really wants to hurt you, your head is the first
thing that
he sees. Now we'll have the ability to actually to fly this over
and see if it
is even worth doing a containment."
The UAV utilises an onboard compass and GPS system for its command and
control. It flies to a location that is predetermined by the
operator on a laptop.
The developers are working on a so-called cyber command post to
enable images
to be viewed, anywhere in the word, in real time.
"If we're flying over hazardous material or something that we can't
recognise, we can have a subject matter expert, maybe not even in
the country, in a
different time zone, that is actually watching the exact same
information that
we're getting.
'Big brother' surveillance?
"We will be able to incorporate his subject matter expertise into our
decision making process," says Commander Heal.
The SkySeer will also be used to back up officers on the ground if
they are
pursuing a suspect on foot. Flying at a speed of about 30 mph (48
kph), the
police believe it will be impossible for a suspect to outmanoeuvre
the UAV.
"You simply point the camera at him and keep following."
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has only one prototype SkySeer
at the
moment.
When it goes into service, the force's SWAT [Special Weapons and
Tactics]
unit will carry out the initial evaluation in real-life situations.
Commander Heal is quick to point out that it is not their intention
to launch
'big brother' style surveillance operations.
"There's no place in an urban environment that you can go to right
now that
you're not being looked at with a video camera and you have nothing
to fear
from your own government - you are being watched by your fellow
citizens," he
says.
"The only time that this is ever going to be operational is in some
kind of
emergency condition."
=======
FAA Grounds L.A. Sheriff's Drone Air Force
Federal officials say the sheriff didn't have the OK for a media
demonstration of his surveillance drone.
By Lynn Doan and Ashraf Khalil, Times Staff Writers
June 22, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-
drone22jun22,1,57177
4.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro
The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily shot down Los
Angeles
County Sheriff Lee Baca's plans to launch unmanned surveillance
drones to monitor
crime.
The Sheriff's Department has been working for seven years with a
defense
contractor to build SkySeer, a 3-foot-long remote-controlled model
airplane with a
6 1/2 -foot wingspan and tiny video cameras that can fit in the
back of a
patrol car when disassembled.
Baca and other officials had seen the drones as a major advance in law
enforcement, providing deputies with a bird's-eye view of standoffs
and other
surveillance operations without the noise and high visibility of
helicopters.
The project hit a milestone last week when the Sheriff's Department
performed
its first demonstration for the media — showing the plane take off,
beam its
video images 250 feet to deputies below and then landing.
But the test raised the ire of FAA officials, who said they had
told the
Sheriff's Department a week earlier that it could not fly the
drones without
receiving a certificate of authorization from the agency.
"I wouldn't want to term us as peeved, but we were definitely
surprised," FAA
spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Sheriff's officials were told "that
we were
more than willing to sit down and talk about a certificate — but
that was before
their first flight."
The FAA is now investigating Friday's demonstration to determine
whether the
Sheriff's Department should face disciplinary action.
Until the investigation is over, Brown said, the agency will not
authorize
the county's use of the drones.
Sheriff's officials dismissed the conflict as a misunderstanding
that would
soon be cleared up. But they were incredulous about what they
consider red tape
getting in the way of their law enforcement tool.
"A private citizen can go to the store and buy one of those model
airplanes
and fly them around. But because we're doing it as a public
service, we have to
deal with the FAA?" said Sheriff's Cmdr. Sid Heal. Once they "take
a deep
breath and realize there was no malice intended, it will get back
on track."
Baca said Wednesday that he was unaware of the FAA investigation but
downplayed the dispute.
"There's no reason for the FAA to be concerned," he said, calling
the drones
"non-invasive and nearly silent."
The Sheriff's Department has been developing the drone in
conjunction with La
Verne-based defense contractor, Octatron.
The drones are still in the testing stages. But if they prove
effective, the
department planned to buy 20 SkySeers at a cost of $20,000 to
$30,000 each.
Backers say the drones are much cheaper to operate than helicopters
and are
virtually silent, something that can be an advantage in undercover
surveillance.
But that silence worries privacy advocates, who fear the Sheriff's
Department
will spy on people.
"Drones are far more nimble and silent; at least with a helicopter,
you know
you're being looked at," said Beth Givens, founder of the Privacy
Rights
Clearinghouse in San Diego. "The use of drones steps over the line."
Heal said the department has no plans to spy on people. Rather,
they would
most likely be used to track fleeing suspects, monitor hostage
situations and
search for missing children and hikers, he said.
The drone would fly about 300 feet above the ground, much lower
than small
planes and helicopters.
Still, the FAA said it tightly regulates all drones and other
"unmanned
aerial vehicles" because they could interfere with other aviation
activity.
"We've already got certain lanes designated in the sky out there,"
Brown
said. "There are certain ways that UAVs must operate so that they
have less impact
on other types of things."
The FAA is especially concerned about drones in Los Angeles, which
has very
congested airspace and where certain types of planes and
helicopters are
assigned specific "air corridors."
But it's not unheard of for the FAA to reserve airspace for drones.
The FAA recently created such a zone in New Mexico to accommodate a
Homeland
Security drone that patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border in search of
illegal
border crossings.
-------------------------------1151564178
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Language: en
<HTML xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD>
<META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html;
charset=UTF-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1543" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR:
#ffffff">
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD colSpan=3>
<DIV class=mxb><FONT size=4>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt;
mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR:
black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=2><STRONG>The <U>New
Straits Times</U> editorialized (11/14):<SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </SPAN></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=sh dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt;
mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR:
black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG><SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"></SPAN><FONT size=2><EM><FONT color=#ff0000>"The killing of
six alleged al-Qaeda members in a Yemen desert by an unmanned CIA
predator drone on Nov 3 has introduced a couple of new dimensions
to the United States’ war on terror.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </SPAN></FONT></EM></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt;
mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR:
black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG><FONT size=2><EM><FONT
color=#ff0000>One, it suggests that targeted assassination in the
name of war on terror is now a policy sanctioned by President
George W. Bush.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In
short, killing specific individuals in countries where there is no
war may very well be the next stage in the war on terror.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></EM></FONT></
STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt;
mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR:
black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG><SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"></SPAN><FONT size=2><EM><FONT color=#ff0000>Two, the remote-
control killing - which is a departure from the conventions of war
- paves the way for what may be called robotics warfare.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And what would be the rules
in a warfare where drones, launched from another country, are used
to eliminate "suspects" - unsuspecting souls in a no-war zone -
with a shower of Hellfire missiles?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </SPAN></FONT></EM></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 6pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt;
mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR:
black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG><SPAN style="mso-spacerun:
yes"></SPAN><FONT size=2><EM><FONT color=#ff0000>Then, there is the
operational issue: where and from whom does the US get the
information needed to identify and precisely track its targeted
victims?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even if
America does not believe the rule of law should be extended to non-
American citizens, innocents could have been killed for the
information may not always be totally accurate.<SPAN style="mso-
spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The implications are worrying.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The US can send a laser-
guided drone to fire a Hellfire missile (which would instantly
vaporize the target) at any suspected terrorist anywhere.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></EM></FONT></
STRONG></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: black; FONT-
FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG><FONT size=2><EM><FONT color=#ff0000>"<o:p></
o:p></FONT></EM></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT>
<DIV class=sh><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2></FONT></
STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=sh><STRONG><FONT size=4></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=sh><STRONG><FONT size=6>High hopes for drone in LA
skies</FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV class=sh><STRONG><FONT size=4></FONT></STRONG> </DIV></
DIV></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top width=416><FONT size=2><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL -->
<DIV class=mvb>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=bottom>
<DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byl>By Peter Bowes </SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=byd>BBC News, Los Angeles </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byd></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byd><A href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
americas/5051142.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/
5051142.stm</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=mvb><SPAN class=byd><FONT size=2></FONT></SPAN> </
DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><IMG height=1 alt="" hspace=0
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif"; width=416
border=0><BR></DIV><!-- E IBYL -->
<P><B>Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drone
aircraft, are about to be launched for the first time by the police
in Los Angeles. </B>
<P><!-- S IIMA -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV><IMG height=152 alt="Launching the drone" hspace=0 src="http://
newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41730000/gif/
_41730278_holding_drone.gif" width=203 border=0>
<DIV class=cap>The drone is quickly assembled and easily launched</
DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->
<P>UAVs have<STRONG> long been used by the military in <EM>war
zones</EM> such as Iraq or Afghanistan. But the technology has been
adapted <EM>for domestic use</EM></STRONG> and could revolutionise
the way law enforcement agencies carry out surveillance and rescue
operations.
<P>The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) has been
experimenting with a drone called SkySeer, which it intends to put
into service later this month.
<P>SkySeer looks like a remotely controlled model aircraft. It has
a wingspan of 6.5 feet (1.98m) and weighs 4 pounds (1.81kg). A
camera is attached to its belly and a small battery powers the drone.
<P><B>'Almost invisible'</B>
<P>"It has a video link that sends data in real time down to our
ground station - the operator can then see, in real time, what it's
seeing," explains SkySeer inventor Sam De La Torre, from Octatron
Inc - a surveillance technology firm.
<P>The SkySeer has been designed for quick and easy use by police
officers on the street. It can be folded up and stored like a tent
in a backpack.
<P><!-- S IIMA -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD>
<DIV><IMG height=152 alt="SkySeer flying " hspace=0 src="http://
newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41730000/gif/_41730280_scene203.gif"
width=203 border=0>
<DIV class=cap>SkySeer can fly at speeds of 30mph (48 kph)</DIV></
DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->"Within five minutes
he can have the aircraft assembled,' says Mr De La Torre
<P>"You just push the take-off button, the motor starts up and you
throw it."
<P>The UAV can fly at any height. At 250 feet above the ground, it
can clear a 25-storey building and is almost invisible.
<P>The Sheriff's Department is keen to start using the drone in
situations where conventional crime-fighting is either impractical
or too expensive.
<P>At a cost of approximately $25,000 - $30,000 (£13,400 -
£16,000), the UAV is considerably cheaper than a helicopter. But
the device's practical applications are generating the most
excitement amongst officers.
<P><B>Pinpointing victims </B>
<P>"It provides several things that we can't get other ways," says
Commander Charles Heal, head of the LASD's technology exploration
project.
<P>The UAV's ability to hover in virtual silence over an accident
or crime scene, without any risk to a pilot, provides both a
tactical and economic advantage.
<P>It is envisaged that SkySeer will be put to use when children go
missing down a hillside in difficult terrain.
<P>To save time and minimise the risk to rescuers, the UAV will be
used overhead to pinpoint the location of a victim.
<P>"It has different cameras - colour, low light and even infra-red
- and so as a result of that we can even find heat signatures that
are coming through the bushes and overhead," says Commander Heal.
<P>With burglaries, the police say the SkySeer will be used get an
aerial view of a building where someone is believed to have broken
in through the roof.
<P><!-- S IBOX -->
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD width=5><IMG height=1 alt="" hspace=0 src="http://
newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width=5 border=0></TD>
<TD class=sibtbg>
<DIV class=o><IMG height=152 alt="" hspace=0 src="http://
newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41730000/gif/
_41730314_charlesheal203.gif" width=203 border=0> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=mva><IMG height=13 alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/
nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" width=24 border=0> <B>You
simply point the camera at a suspect and keep following</B> <IMG
height=13 alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/
end_quote_rb.gif" width=23 align=right border=0><BR clear=all></
DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=mva>
<DIV>Commander Charles Heal <BR>head of LASD technology exploration
project</DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->
<P>
<P>The conventional approach is to call the fire department to
bring in ladder trucks, allowing officers physically to climb onto
the top of a building.
<P>"If the suspect really wants to hurt you, your head is the first
thing that he sees. Now we'll have the ability to actually to fly
this over and see if it is even worth doing a containment."
<P>The UAV utilises an onboard compass and GPS system for its
command and control. It flies to a location that is predetermined
by the operator on a laptop.
<P>The developers are working on a so-called cyber command post to
enable images to be viewed, anywhere in the word, in real time.
<P>"If we're flying over hazardous material or something that we
can't recognise, we can have a subject matter expert, maybe not
even in the country, in a different time zone, that is actually
watching the exact same information that we're getting.
<P><B>'Big brother' surveillance? </B>
<P>"We will be able to incorporate his subject matter expertise
into our decision making process," says Commander Heal.
<P>The SkySeer will also be used to back up officers on the ground
if they are pursuing a suspect on foot. Flying at a speed of about
30 mph (48 kph), the police believe it will be impossible for a
suspect to outmanoeuvre the UAV.
<P>"You simply point the camera at him and keep following."
<P>The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has only one prototype
SkySeer at the moment.
<P>When it goes into service, the force's SWAT [Special Weapons and
Tactics] unit will carry out the initial evaluation in real-life
situations.
<P><STRONG>Commander Heal is <EM>quick to point out</EM> that
<EM>it is not their intention to launch 'big brother' style
surveillance operations</EM>. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"There's no place in an urban environment that you can
go to right now that you're not being looked at with a video camera
and you have nothing to fear from your own government - you are
being watched by your fellow citizens," he says. </STRONG>
<P><STRONG>"The only time that this is ever going to be operational
is in some kind of emergency condition."<!-- E BO --> </STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>=======</STRONG></P>
<H1>FAA Grounds L.A. Sheriff's Drone Air Force</H1>
<DIV class=storysubhead><STRONG><FONT size=3>Federal officials say
the sheriff didn't have the OK for a media demonstration of his
surveillance drone.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=storysubhead> </DIV>
<DIV class=storybyline>By Lynn Doan and Ashraf Khalil, Times Staff
Writers<BR>June 22, 2006 </DIV>
<DIV class=storybyline> </DIV>
<DIV class=storybyline><A href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/
los_angeles_metro/la-me-drone22jun22,1,571774.story?coll=la-commun-
los_angeles_metro">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/
los_angeles_metro/la-me-drone22jun22,1,571774.story?coll=la-commun-
los_angeles_metro</A></DIV>
<P> </P>
<P>The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily shot down
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca's plans to launch unmanned
surveillance drones to monitor crime. <BR><BR>The Sheriff's
Department has been working for seven years with a defense
contractor to build SkySeer, a 3-foot-long remote-controlled model
airplane with a 6 1/2 -foot wingspan and tiny video cameras that
can fit in the back of a patrol car when disassembled. <BR></P>
<DIV class=storybody>
<DIV class=cubeadbox>
<DIV class=adheader><NOSCRIPT><A href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/
jump/trb.latimes/news/local/
lametro;ptype=s;rg=ur;ref=googlecom;tile=4;sz=300x250;ord=47321642"
target=_blank></A></NOSCRIPT></DIV></DIV>Baca and other officials
had seen the drones as a major advance in law enforcement,
providing deputies with a bird's-eye view of standoffs and other
surveillance operations without the noise and high visibility of
helicopters.<BR><BR>The project hit a milestone last week when the
Sheriff's Department performed its first demonstration for the
media — showing the plane take off, beam its video images 250 feet
to deputies below and then landing. <BR><BR>But the test raised the
ire of FAA officials, who said they had told the Sheriff's
Department a week earlier that it could not fly the drones without
receiving a certificate of authorization from the agency.<BR><BR>"I
wouldn't want to term us as peeved, but we were definitely
surprised," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Sheriff's officials
were told "that we were more than willing to sit down and talk
about a certificate — but that was before their first flight."
<BR><BR>The FAA is now investigating Friday's demonstration to
determine whether the Sheriff's Department should face disciplinary
action.<BR><BR>Until the investigation is over, Brown said, the
agency will not authorize the county's use of the
drones.<BR><BR>Sheriff's officials dismissed the conflict as a
misunderstanding that would soon be cleared up. But they were
incredulous about what they consider red tape getting in the way of
their law enforcement tool.<BR><BR>"A private citizen can go to the
store and buy one of those model airplanes and fly them around. But
because we're doing it as a public service, we have to deal with
the FAA?" said Sheriff's Cmdr. Sid Heal. Once they "take a deep
breath and realize there was no malice intended, it will get back
on track." <BR><BR>Baca said Wednesday that he was unaware of the
FAA investigation but downplayed the dispute.<BR><BR>"There's no
reason for the FAA to be concerned," he said, calling the drones
"non-invasive and nearly silent."<BR><BR>The Sheriff's Department
has been developing the drone in conjunction with La Verne-based
defense contractor, Octatron. <BR><BR><BR><BR>The drones are still
in the testing stages. But if they prove effective, the department
planned to buy 20 SkySeers at a cost of $20,000 to $30,000
each.<BR><BR>Backers say the drones are much cheaper to operate
than helicopters and are virtually silent, something that can be an
advantage in undercover surveillance. <BR><BR>But that silence
worries privacy advocates, who fear the Sheriff's Department will
spy on people.<BR><BR>"Drones are far more nimble and silent; at
least with a helicopter, you know you're being looked at," said
Beth Givens, founder of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San
Diego. "The use of drones steps over the line."<BR><BR>Heal said
the department has no plans to spy on people. Rather, they would
most likely be used to track fleeing suspects, monitor hostage
situations and search for missing children and hikers, he said.
<BR><BR>The drone would fly about 300 feet above the ground, much
lower than small planes and helicopters.<BR><BR>Still, the FAA said
it tightly regulates all drones and other "unmanned aerial
vehicles" because they could interfere with other aviation
activity.<BR><BR>"We've already got certain lanes designated in the
sky out there," Brown said. "There are certain ways that UAVs must
operate so that they have less impact on other types of
things."<BR><BR>The FAA is especially concerned about drones in Los
Angeles, which has very congested airspace and where certain types
of planes and helicopters are assigned specific "air
corridors."<BR><BR>But it's not unheard of for the FAA to reserve
airspace for drones. <BR><BR>The FAA recently created such a zone
in New Mexico to accommodate a Homeland Security drone that
patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border in search of illegal border
crossings.</FONT><BR></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BODY></HTML>
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