Associated Press
| May 23, 2013
President Obama offered a robust defense of his drone policy in a major counterterrorism policy speech, but said the strikes would be scaled back as part of a transition away from the "War on Terror." He also vowed to redouble efforts to close the...
Al Jazeera English
| May 23, 2013
Niger has been shaken by its first terrorist attacks since it began aiding regional efforts against Islamists. Twin suicide bombings killed at least 20 people at a uranium mine and a military barracks. The attacks were claimed by a group who said ...
Democracy Now!
| May 23, 2013
The Obama administration has admitted for the first time to killing four US citizens in drone strikes overseas. Three died in Yemen: the Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. A fourth, Jude Kenan ...
Reuters
| May 20, 2013
Warning to would-be home invaders: Look out above. A new thief-hunting "home drone" created by a Japanese security firm will serve as a kind of mechinical guard activated when an alarm is tripped to video and harass any wanna-be intruder. The dron...
Reuters
| May 15, 2013
In a move that could change sea-based warfare forever -- and remove the need for American drone bases overseas -- the US Navy has successfully launched an unmanned attack aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Landing the X-47B on a carrie...
Russia Today
| May 8, 2013
South Africa's OppiKoppi music festival has found a peaceful -- though potentially still somewhat explosive -- new use for drones. In a trial program, concertgoers will be able to have beers delivered by a guided "beer drone" that will drop its pa...
Reuters
| May 8, 2013
Unmanned warfare just got more sophisticated. The US Navy's first sea-based, unmanned attack aircraft has passed its first "arrested landing test" in preparation for tests on board an aircraft carrier later this month. The X-47B, designed by North...
Russia Today
| Apr 24, 2013
Drones and other machines capable of targeting and killing humans autonomously are too close to becoming reality, Human Rights Watch warns. The group has launched a global Campaign to Stop Killer Robots to press for an international ban on such ma...
Democracy Now!
| Apr 10, 2013
In his new book, "The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth," Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti tracks the transformation of the CIA and US special operations forces into man-huntin...
ITN News
| Apr 9, 2013
The US Navy has released a video of a laser weapon to be mounted on an American warship in the Middle East that can be used to zap drones out of the sky. The video shows both an animation and an apparent actual test of the weapon, which will "tran...
— Jun 2, 2012 at 01:39 pm
— Oct 23, 2012 at 01:21 am
— Nov 15, 2012 at 12:30 am
— Jan 13, 2012 at 11:00 am
An unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by computers in the vehicle, or under the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle.
There are a wide variety of drone shapes, sizes, configurations, and characteristics. Historically, UAVs were simple remotely piloted aircraft, but autonomous control is increasingly being employed.
They are deployed predominantly for military applications, but also used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as policing, firefighting, and nonmilitary security work, such as surveillance of pipelines. UAVs are often preferred for missions that are too "dull, dirty, or dangerous" for manned aircraft.
(via Freebase)
