-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: March 25, 2007 9:51:40 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Armed Unmanned Drones to Patrol US Skies
Drones could defend airports
By Mimi Hall
USA TODAY, March 22, 2007
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-22-unmanned-
drones_N.htm
Global Hawk begins its descent with an initial decrease in altitude
to 20,000 feet. The RQ-4A Global Hawk is one of the largest of a
breed of pilotless airships that may help revolutionize the war on
terrorism.
The Homeland Security Department and the military this summer will
test whether drones flying 65,000 feet above the nation's busiest
airports could be used to protect planes from being shot down by
terrorists with shoulder-fired missiles.
Dubbed "Project Chloe" after a character on Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff's favorite TV show, "24," < ! > the anti-
missile strategy is the latest to be explored by government leaders
looking to thwart potential missile threats at commercial airports.
Other methods are being considered, but Homeland Security officials
say they may be too costly or impractical.
The drones, to be tested over the Patuxent River Naval Air Station
outside Washington, would be outfitted with missile-warning systems
and possibly anti-missile lasers that could send plane-bound
missiles veering off course, says Kerry Wilson, a deputy
administrator of Homeland Security's anti-missile program.
An unmanned plane's warning indicators could pick up the
ultraviolet plume from a missile's rocket booster and trigger an
anti-missile laser, which could be shot from the drone or from a
site on the ground. That laser would lock on to the missile,
essentially blinding it.
The tests follow four years of research on anti-missile laser
systems that could be mounted on the bellies of planes for $1
million or more per plane.
Those systems, regularly used by the military, are being tested on
nine Federal Express cargo planes to see how well they hold up.
Early military tests showed they broke down after 300-400 hours of
use, a failure rate that's problematic for commercial use.
Concerns about those systems prompted officials to look for a less
expensive, more reliable solution, and using unmanned aerial
vehicles "is an idea worth looking at," Wilson said.
Project Chloe has critics in Congress and in private industry.
Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., says the government should share the
cost of installation and maintenance of the more expensive systems
with the airline industry. "It's been four years of trying to
figure out how to get this cheaper," he says. "But it's just a
matter of time before a shoulder-fired missile becomes the biggest
blow to our economy."
Aviation groups have expressed concerns about drones in civilian
airspace. Chris Dancy of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
says there would be no problem with drones flying at 65,000 feet,
well above the altitude of commercial jets. He said he was
concerned, however, about how airspace would be restricted when the
drones take off and land.
Inexpensive, widely available shoulder-fired missiles have been
used against passenger and cargo planes overseas. Although no one
has tried to take down a plane in the USA, Homeland Security is
concerned about the possibility.
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