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In US Airspace, You Really Should Sweat the Small Stuff

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US airspace drone
By Ben Lerner
HSToday

The past couple of months have seen some positive developments for the commercial utilization of drones in the United States. Although the industries seeking to use them are not where they’d hoped to be by now as far as the integration of drones into American airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed its long-awaited “small drone” rules, allowing businesses to fly drones weighing less than fifty-five pounds, provided they meet certain requirements, such as flying only at daytime and keeping them within the visual line-of-sight of the operators, among others.

The FAA recently granted Amazon.com permission to proceed with conducting outdoor test flights for its incipient drone-delivery service, provided Amazon testing complies with limits similar to those in the FAA’s proposed rules.

From the homeland security perspective, however, it’s not all good news about drones. The average private individual can purchase drones for recreational purposes, and the equipment to build a rudimentary drone is widely available commercially – and, they could potentially be configured to carry out explosive or other attacks; or be used for surveillance purposes in aiding the planning and execution of an attack by other means.

Because such drones are small and fly at low altitudes, are portable and can be launched with relative ease, they present a sort of “less is more” challenge for national security apparatuses typically wired to deal with higher-profile aerial threats like hijacked commercial airliners or other large, manned aircraft.

The New York Police Department already has expressed its concern that drones could be used in terrorist attacks on New York City – a legitimate concern prompted in part by a drone landing on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s podium during a 2013 speech in Germany. French authorities have yet to identify who is behind a series of unauthorized drone flights over landmarks and sensitive installations across France, and some officials in federal law enforcement have said drug cartels likely will start using drones to enhance their surveillance capabilities along border areas.

Read the full article at Homeland Security Today

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Court Rules on Civilian Drones Used to Record Police

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Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), more commonly known as drones, are increasingly popular devices used by citizens and law enforcement agencies alike. However, the regulations about operating drones remain undefined by the court system and the FAA. Police agencies around the country are evaluating and adopting new policies about how they operate drones as well as how they interact with citizens using such devices. Read about a recent court decision involving a man using a drone to record an active accident scene. What are the impacts of this ruling on police agencies?

FAA Releases Policies for Unmanned Aerial System Use in the National Airspace System

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This January, a personal unmanned aerial system (UAS) crashed on to the White House lawn. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) intended to bring forward new regulations for the public and commercial use of UAS in 2015, this incident seems to have accelerated the timetable. On February 15, the FAA released proposed rule changes. What are the key components of the new proposed regulations and how could it impact law enforcement agencies across the country?

Paris Terrorist Attacks: How Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Could Have Aided Police Response

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The world has watched as horrific terrorist events have unfolded in Paris. These events, and the 17 deaths associated with them, forced law enforcement to take compromised positions against a formidable threat, which could have been reduced with the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Such UAS would provide command staff and officers with instantaneous actionable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information so resources are properly deployed in the safest manner possible.

Is a Career in Robotics Right for You?

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By Prof. Karen Gail Hand
Faculty Member, Information Technology at American Public University

In the same way that personal computers and the Internet revolutionized the world in the 1980s and 90s, respectively, advancements in robotics will revolutionize the world within the next decade, and well beyond.

Amazon Drones and Reverse Logistics

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By Dr. Robert Gordon
Faculty member, American Public University

What’s most compelling is that Amazon’s announcement doesn’t address potential benefits to the reverse logistics field that drones can offer in the near future. In fact, Amazon might be missing out on a huge potential market.

Iran Fires on U.S. Drone

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By William Tucker

Pentagon spokesman George Little recently stated that Iranian aircraft recently fired on a U.S. predator drone operating in international waters near the Kuwaiti-Iranian border. The unmanned aircraft came under fire as it was conducting a routine surveillance mission in the crowded area of the northern Persian Gulf by two Su-25 Frogfoot fighter aircraft operated by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Air Force.

Al-Qaeda Deputy Abu Yahya al-Libi Killed in Pakistan

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By William Tucker

Typically I prefer to wait for confirmation from both U.S. and al-Qaeda sources before discussing the reported death of a leader. Although most news outlets reporting on this story are quoting one unnamed individual, word just came from the White House they believe Abu Yahya was killed in a recent U.S. drone strike. The drone strike in question occurred early Monday morning in North Waziristan.