Predator at Night
Last night a Predator Drone was circling our area. Normally they don't look like this, it's running lights only because we're near an airport. Probably not looking at us, it's flying high and they can see far.
They've got a characteristic flight pattern, and so even though this is just a distant blinky light (this is at 20X magnification) it's certainly a Predator. They fly this area a lot during the day, I'll put up some more video later.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQ-1_Predator
One of the interesting things I've been pondering about drones is their range. With a conventional aircraft you have to, well, fly back. I noticed this cited reason for losing one "running out of fuel while protecting troops under fire." At some point with a drone you can say 'fuck it, the troops are worth more' and let it go down. I'm not sure how often this happens, but I hope it's in the decision matrix.
Predator at Night
Last night a Predator Drone was circling our area. Normally they don't look like this, it's running lights only because we're near an airport. Probably not looking at us, it's flying high and they can see far.
They've got a characteristic flight pattern, and so even though this is just a distant blinky light (this is at 20X magnification) it's certainly a Predator. They fly this area a lot during the day, I'll put up some more video later.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQ-1_Predator
One of the interesting things I've been pondering about drones is their range. With a conventional aircraft you have to, well, fly back. I noticed this cited reason for losing one "running out of fuel while protecting troops under fire." At some point with a drone you can say 'fuck it, the troops are worth more' and let it go down. I'm not sure how often this happens, but I hope it's in the decision matrix.