Quote:
Originally Posted by Donger
Quote:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...w-bush05152013
A drone the size of a fighter jet took off from the deck of an American aircraft carrier for the first time Tuesday in a test flight that could eventually open the way for the U.S. to launch unmanned aircraft from just about any place in the world.
The X-47B is the first drone designed to take off and land on a carrier, meaning the U.S. military would not need permission from other countries to use their bases.
"As our access to overseas ports, forward operating locations and airspace is diminished around the world, the value of the aircraft carrier and the air wing becomes more and more important," Rear Adm. Ted Branch, commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic, said after the flight off the Virginia coast. "So today is history."
The move to expand the capabilities of the nation's drones comes amid growing criticism of America's use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
Critics in the U.S. and abroad have charged that drone strikes cause widespread civilian deaths and are conducted with inadequate oversight.
Still, defense analysts say drones are the future of warfare.
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I've got a couple of problems with this.
First, our access to overseas ports, forward operating locations and airspace around the world shouldn't be diminishing. Thanks, Obama!
Second, so what if critics say drone strikes cause widespread civilian deaths? The truth is that they cause less collateral damage and fewer friendly casualties than more conventional attacks. What critics really object to is that it makes it safer for the US to launch attacks in the first place.