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US Missiles Kill 25 People in Pakistan Tribal Area
By not in system - AOL NewsISLAMABAD -- U.S. drones fired a volley of missiles into a militant-held Pakistani region close to the Afghan border on Friday, killing 25 people, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The strike came a day after Pakistan's army chief denounced such attacks, and could further sour deteriorating relations between Washington and Islamabad. Ten missiles hit a house in Spinwam village in North Waziristan, a region home to Taliban militants targeting American and NATO troops just across the border in Afghanistan, as well as international al-Qaida terrorists, three intelligence officials ...
Unmanned US Aircraft Shoots, Kills Two US Soldiers [VIDEO]
By not in system - AOL News...
Pentagon to Buy More Tethered Balloons to Watch Over Afghanistan
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL NewsHelium-filled balloons equipped with cameras are gaining popularity with the U.S. military as a cheaper alternative to using high-flying drones in Afghanistan, and now the Pentagon plans to buy another half dozen of the tethered craft to keep watch over the Kandahar Airfield. The Pentagon has already deployed tethered aerostats -- essentially blimps tied to the ground -- to Afghanistan as part of what is called the Persistent Ground Surveillance System, which combines lighter-than-air vehicles with cameras and a ground control station. Military officials have credited the aerostats with ...
Gates' Big Knife at the Pentagon: Who Wins, Who Loses
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL NewsThe official Pentagon spending request is still weeks away, but some winners and losers are already emerging in the battle for a shrinking portion of the budget pie. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced major changes to the Pentagon's budget that are expected to rein in future defense spending. "We must come to realize that not every defense program is necessary, not every defense dollar is sacred and well spent, and that more of nearly everything is simply not sustainable," he told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday. Brittany Y. Bateman, U.S. Air Force An ...
Iran Claims It Shot Down 2 Spy Planes; Offers No Proof
By Theunis Bates - AOL NewsIran is claiming that its elite Revolutionary Guards has shot down two "Western" spy planes flying over the Persian Gulf. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guards' air force wing, told state-run media on Sunday that the drones had violated Iranian air space. "Westerners have a series of capabilities from long ago which cannot be ignored. ... For example, they have spy drones which can take pictures in some places," he said, according to Press TV. "They do not dare [use] these [planes] in our country. For example, we shot down two of their planes in the Persian Gulf, and this is the first ...
Mexican Drone Crash Lands in El Paso: 4 Possible Explanations
By Steven Hoffer - AOL News(Dec. 17) -- Someone needs to explain this. U.S. authorities are investigating an unmanned Mexican drone that crash landed in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, the El Paso Times reported Friday. Authorities identified the drone -- which landed in "someone's backyard" -- as an Orbiter Mini UAV designed by Aeronautics Defense Systems. The company's website describes the aircraft as "the ultimate solution for over-the-hill reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflicts and urban warfare operations." Initial reporting on the drone crash was sketchy to say the least. "I guess we are investigating, ...
The War App: Smart Phones Could Control Drone Cameras
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News
(Dec. 14) -- "Droid wars" could be the new "drone wars" as defense firms work to develop smart phone applications for the military, based on the increasing popularity of the iPhone, Android and similar devices. Smart phone apps have taken off in the commercial marketplace, allowing consumers with smart phones to pay bills, make restaurant reservations or check arrival times for planes. But with the rapid proliferation of smart phones among soldiers, companies see a new market for apps. One company is developing applications for smart phones that would allow soldiers to control the cameras on ...
Drones, Stealth Aircraft Steal the Air Show in China
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News
(Nov. 19) -- Among the unusual drones on display this week at an air show in China is an unmanned aircraft designed to induce rain. The really odd part, according to a trade journal reporter who spotted the drone, is that the allegedly commercial aircraft looks suspiciously stealth-like. "The design suggests a low-observable, tactical or medium-altitude long endurance capability," wrote Aviation Week & Space Technology's Robert Wall. "The reality is, at least so the manufacturer would have us believe, that the vehicle-launched system is intended solely to dispense material that can help cause ...
Air Force Drone Patrols Reach New High
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News
(Nov. 5) -- More than two years after being sharply criticized by the secretary of defense for not flying enough surveillance missions, the U.S. Air Force has almost doubled the number of unmanned Predator and Reaper aircraft combat patrols. "On the second [of November], we stood up our 45th CAP [combat air patrol], and we're on target to deliver on time what our nation has asked of us to deliver," Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements, told reporters Thursday. The Air Force is on schedule to reach its target of 65 CAPs, he ...
New Software May Help Military Spot Terrorists
By Sharon Weinberger - AOL News(Oct. 12) -- The U.S. military's drones flying over Afghanistan every day vacuum up reams of data, much of it in the form of full-motion video. But trying to make sense of that video, let alone pick out possible insurgent or terrorist activity, is a challenge of epic proportions. Now, a software firm working under contract to the Pentagon says it may have a way of automatically sifting through that video to pick out suspicious activity. "There's been a lot of work in the past few decades on image analysis of human faces and objects of interest," Anthony Hoogs, the director of computer ...
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