Drones that have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of suspected terrorists in the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan soon may be patrolling the skies over Florida and the rest of the United States.
But rather than launching missiles, domestically flown drones could fill a variety of peaceful roles, from aerial photography and land surveying to law-enforcement duties such as monitoring red-light running and speeding.
They also could be used for clandestine surveillance, triggering privacy concerns from civil-rights experts who worry about indiscriminate snooping on law-abiding citizens, not just criminal suspects.
What ultimately happens and under what restrictions are up for debate right now.
The Federal Aviation Administration, at the behest of Congress and President Barack Obama, is devising rules that by 2015 should determine how drones can safely share airspace with the nearly 340,000 commercial and private planes aloft every day nationwide.
Some of the testing could be done in Florida. The FAA could pick the six testing sites by December.
"We have lots to offer," said Jim Kuzma, chief operating officer for Space Florida, a Cape Canaveral-based space-development agency courting the FAA on the state's behalf.
Kuzma estimates as many as 50 companies in Florida are involved in some way with manufacturing drones. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach is one of the few institutions in the country that offers a degree in unmanned systems.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
8 comments:
you will be monitored at all times! whether you want to or not!
Bring'em on Behave and you have nothing to worry about
Maybe taking down Drones will become a new American sport
Another way to invade your privacy sure you can trust your government of
I've noticed that drones don't have the blinking lights that regular planes have per FAA protocol.If we are to believe that drones are as big as the one that just crashed,the need for an exterior lighting system is paramount.Those lights act as a warning system to alert other planes to their presence.Anything less is a hazard and a major air safety issue.
Jack K Richardson I am ashamed of you! Behave and you have nothing to worry about is ludicrous!
Since when is it okay for the US to be spying on it citizenry?
That's the kind of stuff that went on in Communist Eastern Europe! We are not communists-not yet anyway but with people thinking like you do it's bound to happen.
I was in Poland during Communism rule for a few months. Terrible. You had to go into the woods (to hide) and listen to what was going via short wave radio. A blog like this and Joe Albero would have disappeared.
I was only 13 years old when I was there but I remember the conditions very well.
Methinks that is quite a reach but appreciate your thoughts.
The X-ray capability is what concerns me.I don't mind being monitored while I'm outside,but the idea of being monitored while in my house creeps me out a bit.
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