23 Jul, 2013
Pentagon shifts drone army to new hot spots worldwide | The Japan Times
As the administration of President Barack Obama dials back the number of drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, the U.S. military is shifting its huge fleet of unmanned aircraft to other hot spots around the world. This next phase of drone warfare is focused more on spying than killing and will extend the Pentagon’s robust surveillance networks far beyond traditional, declared combat zones.
Over the past decade, the Pentagon has amassed more than 400 Predators, Reapers, Hunters, Gray Eagles and other high-altitude drones that have revolutionized counterterrorism operations. Some of the unmanned aircraft will return home with American troops when they leave Afghanistan. But many will be redeployed to fresh frontiers, where they will spy from the sky on a melange of armed groups, drug runners, pirates and other targets that worry U.S. officials.
Read the rest: Pentagon shifts drone army to new hot spots worldwide | The Japan Times.
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