First Robotic Drone Squadron Deployed

coondoggie writes with a link to a Network World blog post on the world's first unmanned attack squadron. The US is deploying a full squadron of combat drones to Iraq this week. These armed and remotely controlled robots can be manipulated from on the ground in the field, or via satellite from thousands of miles away. "The MQ-9 Reaper is the Air Force's first hunter-killer unmanned aircraft. It is the big brother to the highly successful and sometimes controversial Predator aircraft, which General Atomics said this week had flown over 300,000 flight hours, with over 80% of that time spent in combat. The company said Predator series aircraft have flown an average of 8,200 hours per month over the past six months while maintaining the highest operational readiness rates in the U.S. military aircraft inventory. The MQ-9 Reaper is twice as fast as the Predator - it has a 900-horsepower turbo-prop engine, compared to the 119-horsepower Predator engine - and can carry far more ordnance - 14 Hellfire missiles as opposed to two."

Comments

The US is deploying

[Anonymous Coward]

"The US is deploying" -- sorry, try again. The US government is deploying, or more accurately, the power elite who control the US government are deploying.

Let's not propagate the fairytale that government and the people are one and the same. The majority of US citizens now overwhelmingly oppose the Iraq invasion and occupation. If the people are the government, they how can the occupation continue? Really, the notion is beyond absurd, especially in this day and age -- that notion is downright scandalous.

Re:Controversial?

[inKubus]

We're such pussies in America; we claim that this is an important cause, but then create devices to minimize the loss. If it was that important, we wouldn't have a problem expending lives to solve it. It obviously isn't to most of us. At the point we start sending Robots to kill people because the problem has such a small amount of political support we need to rethink the problem.

Also, don't remote controlled planes kindof make you question the WTC and Pentagon attacks, even a tiny bit?

Re:Friendly Fire? Hearts and minds?

[j35ter]

Ok, so the military personnel is safe and sound at their guarded camps. Tis leaves a lot of frustrated enemy combatants who can not reach their enemy in open combat.
The alternative: Kill the voters who voted for the enemy leader and attack their financial infrastructure...Oh, wait..sounds familiar.

Honestly, even suicide bombers seem more humane to me than these "UAV operators" who kill people without the slightest risk for their own life. That's on par with WMD's