Reaper drone

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Russia Honors Fuel-Spraying Pilots
Russia Honors
Fuel-Spraying Pilots
Mar 17, 2023 12:39 PM CDT

Russia Honors Fuel-Spraying Pilots

Defense ministry says they prevented drone from entering 'temporary airspace regime'

(Newser) - Two Russian pilots who behaved in what the US military calls a "reckless" and "unprofessional" manner in international airspace over the Black Sea have been honored by Russia's defense ministry. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Friday that the pilots of two Su-27 jets that encountered an American...

US Releases Video of Jet Dumping Fuel on Drone

Video of Black Sea encounter also shows drone's damaged propeller

(Newser) - The US military has released declassified video that backs up its account of an encounter over the Black Sea that caused the loss of an MQ-9 Reaper drone. The video, taken by a camera on the drone's underside, shows a Russian Su-27 jet releasing fuel in an apparent attempt...

Russia Is Working to Retrieve Downed US Drone

'I am hoping for success, of course,' Russian official said on TV

(Newser) - "I am hoping for success, of course." So said Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev in televised remarks in reference to Russia's effort to get its hands on the US drone that was forced down in the Black Sea on Tuesday . "I don't know whether...

Russian Ambassador Summoned Over Drone Incident

He claims US drone's Black Sea flight was a 'provocation'

(Newser) - A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday in a "brazen violation of international law," causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the US said. But Russia insisted its warplanes didn't hit the MQ-9...

2 Russian Fighter Jets Mess With, Damage US Drone

One struck MQ-9 Reaper drone's propeller, forcing it down in international waters

(Newser) - The US military says it was forced to bring down an Air Force drone in international waters on Tuesday after a Russian fighter jet struck its propeller while harassing the spy drone. The incident happened over the Black Sea, with US European Command issuing a statement that said two...

France Goes Shopping for US Drones

Congress has approved two for Mali military operations

(Newser) - France is looking to assemble a fleet of intelligence gathering drones to use in its military operations in Mali, and is in talks with both the US and Israel to get its hands on some. The Pentagon has already approved the sale of two Reaper drones (Congress still needs to...

Military Has 64 Drone Bases—in the US

Most are probably for training: Wired

(Newser) - Unmanned aerial drones—they're not just for the mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Yemen anymore. There are now 64 drone bases in the United States, including 12 sites for Predator and Reaper drones, types capable of being armed, reports Wired . And there are plans in the works...

US to Arm Italian Drones
 US to Arm Italian Drones 
May 29, 2012 8:09 AM CDT

US to Arm Italian Drones

Move could open floodgates for rest of NATO, other allies

(Newser) - Pretty soon, every cool kid on the block may have genuine American-made robot killing machines. The Obama administration plans to arm Italy's Reaper drone fleet, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , which will make it difficult for Washington to deny such capabilities to the rest of its NATO allies....

Under Obama, a Force of Killer Drones Evolved

Semi-secret assassination program has expanded greatly in his term

(Newser) - In the five years before President Obama took office, America’s drones launched 44 strikes, all confined to Pakistan, killing about 400 people. But during his Oval Office tenure there have been almost 240 strikes, killing at least four times as many people, and the US has built dozens of...

US Drone Crashes in Seychelles

Unmanned Reaper overshoots runway

(Newser) - Another American spy drone has crashed, but unlike the one in Iran , recovering this one posed no problem for the US military. The unmanned Reaper drone crashed at an airport in the Seychelles after a routine anti-piracy patrol over the Indian Ocean, the AP reports. Officials say the drone developed...

US Flying Armed Drones Out of Ethiopia Base

Ethiopia denies US presence, Air Force doesn't

(Newser) - Not only has the United States built a network of military drone bases in East Africa , it is flying its armed Reaper drones out of a base in southern Ethiopia on secret missions against al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups from Somalia to Yemen, reports the Washington Post . The Ethiopian government is denying...

China Scrambling to Build Its Own Drones

The rest of the world is eager to catch up to US

(Newser) - The showstopper at this year’s Zhuhai air show in China doesn’t need a pilot. Visitors were shown a video of the WJ-600 drone finding and transmitting targeting info on something that looked suspiciously like a US aircraft carrier near an island that looked suspiciously like Taiwan, the Washington ...

Is It Really Okay to Kill Terrorists With Robots?
Is It Really OK to Kill
Terrorists With Robots?
Eugene Robinson
Jul 1, 2011 11:38 AM CDT

Is It Really OK to Kill Terrorists With Robots?

Eugene Robinson worries that we've crossed an ethical line

(Newser) - The war on terror is increasingly being fought by robot assassins. President Obama has stepped up the use of drones to kill terrorists, taking out targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. “I am convinced that this method of waging war is cost-effective but not that it...

Air Force's New Drone 'Can See Everything'

Named after the Greek myth, but this Gorgon has 9 eyes

(Newser) - It's called Gorgon Stare, after the beast of Greek myth, but this Gorgon is a new Air Force surveillance system set to be deployed on drones in Afghanistan. With nine cameras that can send up to 65 different images to different users at once, Gorgon Stare takes cues from ESPN...

US Evolves Strategy, Widens Assault on Terrorists

Iraq withdrawal and Pakistani cooperation enable more drone strikes

(Newser) - Long before he went on the defensive for his handling of the failed Christmas Day airline bombing, Obama had widened the list of US targets abroad and stepped up the pace of airstrikes. The death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in August marked his first major victory in a...

CIA Terminates Blackwater Deal
 CIA Terminates Blackwater Deal 
Dec 11, 2009 9:37 PM CST

CIA Terminates Blackwater Deal

Security firm helped load killer drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan

(Newser) - The Central Intelligence Agency has severed ties with private security firm Blackwater, whose employees helped load the drone aircraft tasked with killing targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. CIA chief Leon Panetta killed the contract, a rep tells the New York Times , which was instrumental in revealing the firm’s ties...

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