COMING TO A BASE NEAR YOU

Drone (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) operations and testing are spreading to bases throughout the U.S. and around the world.

New more exotic versions of these satellite directed weapons programs are being developed that would take on roles such as global strike missions from space. Boeings Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system just had its first flight test and would support potential missions that may include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; suppression of enemy air defenses; electronic attack; strike; and autonomous air refueling.

This video is from a protest on April 22 at Hancock Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York where 37 people were arrested for calling for an end to drone operations at the base.

The use of unmanned programs make waging war cheaper and further from the public view. Efforts like the protest at Hancock Air Base are crucial in exposing the moral and legal issues that surround making war from a distance. It is civilians who are being killed in greater numbers by these not so smart weapons systems.