In case you weren't aware.
CorpWatch (December 16th, 2015)As a result, civilian pilots will directly participate in military operations for the first time since the drone wars began about a decade ago. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Air Force signed contracts with two private companies in 2015 to provide enough pilots to fly two “combat air patrols” or 24-hour surveillance flights that would involve as many as eight MQ-9 Reaper drones per day. The Air Force plans to eventually expand its fleet of privately piloted drones to 40 over the next four years.
Of the two companies, one, Aviation Unmanned, is a small, veteran-owned outfit operating out of Dallas, Texas, which was awarded a contract on August 24. The second is General Atomics, a large San Diego, California-based military contractor that builds both the Reaper and Predator drones and has been paid at least $700 million over the last two years for a variety of drone support services. Their contract was awarded April 15.
This is not the first time that private contractors have played a role in the drone wars. Companies such as Booz AllenHamilton, General Dynamics and SAIC have long held contracts to analyze surveillance data gathered by drones flying over war zones.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/05/iceland-prime-minister-resigns-over-panama-papers-revelations
ReplyDeleteBecause flying high over head to drop bombs that murder civilians and target/assassinate public officials is more civilized than lopping heads off barbarically. And contractors, well that adds another layer of spring fresh white wash to the practice entirely.
ReplyDeleteWhat will be funny is to see how the Washington Government reacts when Iran and Venezuela hire private drones to begin targeting US officials they consider terrorists to drop bombs on their homes and hideouts late at night. Or ISIS sends in their remote controlled planes. It will happen, sooner than they think. How does it get framed differently when it is US "terrorists" that have the bulls-eye painted on their head, white house, congressmen, generals, treasury/fed sanctions officials better listen for the buzz of the wee planes.
"and Venezuela "
ReplyDeleteMaybe they should concentrate on toilet paper and electricity first before they try to hire some drones....
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