U.S. Military Moves Drone Fleet From Camp Lemonnier In Djibouti

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Department of the Navy; CIA World Factbook. Image source: GeoEye via Google Earth. The Washington Post. Published on September 24, 2013, 9:58 p.m.

An end to drone flights from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti

Alarmed by a string of aviation accidents, the government of Djibouti has forced the U.S. military to move a large fleet of drones from Camp Lemonnier, in the capital, to a more remote location in the desert. The Pentagon began intensifying drone operations from Camp Lemonnier in 2011 and has been investing heavily to upgrade the base into a major regional hub for counterterrorism operations.

U.S. Moves Drone Fleet From Camp Lemonnier To Ease Djibouti’s Safety Concerns -- Washington Post

The U.S. military has been forced to relocate a large fleet of drones from a key counterterrorism base on the Horn of Africa after a string of crashes fanned local fears that the unmanned aircraft were at risk of colliding with passenger planes, according to documents and interviews.

Air Force drones ceased flying this month from Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. installation in Djibouti, after local officials expressed alarm about several drone accidents and mishaps in recent years. The base serves as the combat hub for counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Somalia, playing a critical role in U.S. operations against al-Shabab, the Somali Islamist militia that has asserted responsibility for the Nairobi shopping mall attack, which killed more than 60 people.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Military Moving It's Drone Fleet From Camp Lemonnier In Djibouti

US Moves Drones from Key Africa Base -- Voice of America
US relocates drones airfield after Djibouti crashes -- AFP
US moves East African drone base following series of crashes -- RT
Djibouti Has Had It With All These American Drone Crashes -- The Atlantic

My Comment: Camp Lemonnier may be losing it's drone fleet .... but it is still going to be expanded as a forward operating site.

Read More

The U.S. Air Force's QF-16 Unmanned Aerial Target Drone - Modified F-16 Fighter Aircraft

The Air Force Is Converting Its Old F-16s Into a Fleet of Drones -- Gizmodo

An awkward thing happens late in the life of a fighter jet. It becomes too decrepit for combat but too functional for the junkyard. Don't worry, though. The Air Force has a plan: convert them all into drones in order to offer fighter pilots in training more realistic target practice.

The latest fleet to get the drone treatment is the famous but fading F-16. Outside of combat, this Cold War-era jet is perhaps best known for being the plane of choice for the Air Force Thunderbirds air show team. Those days are numbered, so Boeing is on deck to convert as many as 126 F-16s into so-called QF-16s, unmanned "aerial targets." So far, Boeing says, the aircraft are capable of "a series of simulated maneuvers, reaching supersonic speeds, returning to base and landing, all without a pilot in the cockpit."

Read more ....

More News On the The U.S. Air Force's QF-16 Unmanned Aerial Target Drone

Empty F-16 jet tested by Boeing and US Air Force -- BBC
Look Ma! No Pilot! An unmanned F-16 takes to the skies…for target practice -- Time
QF-16 unmanned aerial target takes to air -- UPI
Watch a retired F-16 fighter return as a target practice drone -- The Verge
Boeing gives retired F-16 fighter new life as a drone -- Endgadget
WATCH: Who needs Tom Cruise? F-16 fighter jet flies without pilot -- Daily Star
Air Force steps up their game, turns F-16 fighter jets into unmanned drones -- Guns.com

Read More

China Sparks A Dangerous Drone Arms Race In Asia

China's Wing Loong drone

China Sparks A Dangerous Drone Arms Race in Asia -- Shawn Brimley, Ben Fitzgerald, And Ely Ratner, Foreign Policy

How China sparked a dangerous unmanned arms race.

It's now been a year since Japan's previously ruling liberal government purchased three of the Senkaku Islands to prevent a nationalist and provocative Tokyo mayor from doing so himself. The move was designed to dodge a potential crisis with China, which claims "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands it calls the Diaoyus.

Disregarding the Japanese government's intent, Beijing has reacted to the "nationalization" of the islands by flooding the surrounding waters and airspace with Chinese vessels in an effort to undermine Japan's de facto administration, which has persisted since the reversion of Okinawa from American control in 1971. Chinese incursions have become so frequent that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces (JASDF) are now scrambling jet fighters on a near-daily basis in response.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Chinese originally denied that the drone that was spotted near the disputed territories belonged to them .... since then the Chinese have admitted that the drone in question was theirs. In response .... Japan has now made it very clear that they are now considering options to shoot down any drone that approaches and infringes into their territory .... in short .... they are telling the Chinese that if this happens again they will shoot down their drone. One can only imagine how tense the region will become if such an event does happen.

Read More

The New 'Mini' Generation Of Drones

A Shepherd-MIL Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is seen during the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair at ExCel in London September 10, 2013. REUTERS-Stefan Wermuth

Tiny Recon Robots Herald New Generation Of Drones -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Ex-U.S. Marine Ernest Langdon pulls a pin and throws a small black object onto the ground. But it doesn't explode. Instead, the robot rights itself and swiftly scuttles away, feeding infrared video back to a small radio control screen.

Unmanned drones have become an almost ubiquitous presence on the battlefield for U.S. and other high-tech forces.

But the market for remote controlled vehicles is evolving from the sometimes multi-tonne craft that patrol the skies over Afghanistan or Yemen, carrying out reconnaissance and targeted strikes, to tiny robots that police and even film companies can use.

The top end of the market continues to be dominated by U.S. companies such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, formerly a division of General Dynamics and creator of the Predator and Reaper drones. Other major defense firms such as BAE Systems are pushing forward with next-generation drones with stealth and other features.

Smaller companies are increasingly redefining the industry, however.

Read more ....

My Comment: It is only a question of time before each platoon will have an array of these miniature drones with them when they conduct patrols and ops.

Read More

Al-Qaeda's Leadership Has Assigned Cells Of Engineers To Find Ways To Shoot Down, Jam Or Remotely Hijack U.S. Drones

Reuters

U.S. Documents Detail al-Qaeda’s Efforts To Fight Back Against Drones -- Washington Post

Al-Qaeda’s leadership has assigned cells of engineers to find ways to shoot down, jam or remotely hijack U.S. drones, hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses upon the terrorist network, according to top-secret U.S. intelligence documents.

Although there is no evidence that al-Qaeda has forced a drone crash or interfered with flight operations, U.S. intelligence officials have closely tracked the group’s persistent efforts to develop a counterdrone strategy since 2010, the documents show.

Read more ....

More News On Al Qaqeda's Attempts To Stop The U.S. Drones

Here's How Al-Qaeda Tried to Sabotage American Drones -- The Atlantic Wire
Leaked document shows al-Qaeda's interest in grounding U.S. drones -- Foreign Policy
Al Qaeda reportedly seeking ways to target US drones -- FOX News
Secret US documents show al Qaeda set up anti-drone cells: Report -- Express Tribune/AFP
Government documents: Al-Qaida seeking ways to bring down drones -- Salon
Al Qaeda working on anti-US drone strategy since 2010 - report -- Al Bawaba
Al-Qaeda Engineers Take Aim at Drones: Secret File -- Newser
Al-Qaeda fights back against drones -- The Telegraph

Read More

Send In The Drones To Spy On China

Air Force's New Idea for Spying On China: Swarms of Tiny Bug Drones -- Killer Apps/Foreign Policy

Forget the slow, noisy drones that go after today's terrorists. Instead, picture swarms of tiny drones infiltrating heavily defended skies at will.

That's how the United States Air Force's drone shop sees it. The air service wants drone-makers to invent tiny aircraft -- nano-drones -- that can fly vast distances to spy on an enemy. These bug-like surveillance bots will be particularly useful in the Pacific, an Air Force official told a Washington conference on Tuesday. Because that represents the toughest challenge for American spyplanes: snooping on say, a China equipped with increasingly advanced air defenses.

Read more ....

My Comment: There are still too many technical details that need to be worked out to make this feasible. But the above video is cool.

Read More

Don't Call Them Drones

U.S. Reaper drones at Kandahar Airfield (Credit: GlobalPost)

Drone Industry Gives Journalists Not-So-Subtle Hint — Don’t Use The Word ‘Drones’ -- Washington Times

“Drone” is a dirty word at this week’s drone industry convention in Washington.

The sector long has opposed use of the term, seen by some as having an inherently negative connotation that doesn’t accurately describe the awesome technology and potential positive uses of today’s unmanned aerial vehicles.

Efforts to stop journalists, and the public at large, from using the word “drone” have failed miserably, but the industry hasn’t given up trying.

Inside the media room at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the WiFi password is the not-so-subtle phrase “DontSayDrones.”

Read more ....

My Comment: here is an easy prediction .... no one is going to call drones "Unmanned Vehicle Systems".

Read More

UN Chief Condemns Drone Attacks And States That They Should Be Controlled By International Law

UN Chief Condemns Drone Attacks During Pakistan Visit -- Voice of America

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations secretary-general is speaking out about the use of armed drones during his visit to Pakistan. Ban Ki-moon also says that economic development is crucial to any country’s long-term security.

In Islamabad Tuesday, Ban was critical of the use of armed drones - a key but controversial component of the U.S. war against terrorism, including against targets in northwestern Pakistan.

Speaking to an audience of mainly Pakistani military and political leaders, Ban Ki-moon said the use of unmanned aerial vehicles must be controlled by international law.

Read more ....

More News On The UN Secretary-General Commenting On The Use Of Armed Drones

UN chief says drone strikes must comply with law -- Miami Herald/AP
UN chief urges legal drone use in Pakistan visit -- AFP
UN Secretary General against drone use for assassination -- YNet News
UN Chief says civilian casualties must be avoided in drone strikes -- Xinhuanet
Drones should only be used to gather informaion: UN Secy General -- International News
No to killer drones: UN chief calls for UAV surveillance use only --RT

Read More