U.S. Drones Crowd Iraq's Skies to Fight Insurgents

NYT ^ | 04/05/05 | ERIC SCHMITT

[TigerLikesRooster]

New airforce, already crowding the sky over Iraq. I did not know that drones were controlled from 7,500 miles away. I thought their control is done by those in the region, maybe a few hundred kilometers away.

[Tennessee_Bob]

And look at the tailflash - WA - my old unit - 57th Wing, Fighter Weapons School.

[Puppage]

I did not know that drones were controlled from 7,500 miles away

Nor did I. Then, I saw a special on the Military Channel & one of the drones was being flown by a guy in a van, in Langley, VA. Awesome stuff.

[anniegetyourgun]

That's so cool.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Hey! Dirtyneedle got banned : (

Drones are cool.

[upchuck]

Remember: he who has the most toys always wins :)

[Cap Huff]

ping

[anniegetyourgun]

I love starting the day with games....

[Conspiracy Guy]

Me too Lady! Did you see this thread? Funniest video I've seen. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1377550/posts

[ken5050]

Forget Hellfires..once the military manages to get a laser on these things..think about the tactical implications..

[anniegetyourgun]

Here is a photo and an article about the NYTimes author of this article. This, in the interest of exposing the left.

"Schmitt also added the country's credibility is blown with the international community and the United States...." "Schmitt said the Bush administration should swallow its pride and start looking towards its allies and the United Nations to get involved."

[Wiz]

Heavy traffic in sky!

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #11

Yeah, that indicates that he is a garden variety NYT reporter. Pretending to be mainstream, but liberal inside.

[highimpact]

Commanders say the aircraft have played a pivotal role recently by attacking insurgent mortar positions and warning convoys of suspicious roadblocks that could be ambushes. To bury roadside bombs, insurgents often douse the street with gasoline, ignite it, and dig up the heat-softened asphalt to lay the explosive. The Predator heat sensors detect the hot strips, and warn nearby troops, military officials said.

Why are we tipping off the terrorists that we know this?

[johnb838]

They're operated by the JAGs to keep an eye on the troops behavior. Eye in the sky.

[jriemer]

"A Predator can carry two of 100-pound Hellfire missiles, one under each wing. The new Predator B, a bigger and more powerful version, can carry a total of 16 Hellfires -- as many as the Army's Apache helicopter."
Demand for Predators soars - SD Union-Tribune (2/16/2005)

[js1138]

The drones are actually controlled by guys that think they're playing video games.

[jriemer]

Why are we tipping off the terrorists that we know this?

Because it's the NYT and that's what they do best.

[wildbill]

The operators are over-worked and over-stressed because they have to put in long hours and they need more trained operators?

I suggest they could probably get some overly trained 'hot' pilots at any local mall game arcade or, if they want some real specialists, advertise on Shockwave.

[Magnum44]

The take off and recovery are controlled by an operator in a van at the field. But after launch, the mission profile and control is remote via satellite link, and could be accomplished from the other side of the globe. This brings the sensor closer to the theatre commander, and eliminates the risk of compromising mission intelligence at the forward site.