Those darn Canadians

[metis]

The first unmanned surveillance aircraft started patrolling the Manitoba portion of Canada's border with the U.S. after a launch ceremony was held on Monday.
Based at a military facility in Grand Forks, N.D., the $10-million Predator B drone aircraft are equipped with sensors capable of detecting a moving person from 10 kilometres away.
They will gather information as they fly along the 400-kilometre border and transmit it to operators who will in turn contact border agents. The drones will not carry weapons, such as missiles or laser-guided bombs, and the U.S. will need permission to send them into in Canadian airspace.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/02/16/drones-border.html

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. oh so they won't be able to

actually bomb someone trying to get across the border? Too bad.
:sarcasm:

[Sinistrous]

2. Don't worry,

that will be next. That, or on-board mini-guns.

[catnhatnh]

3. Hmmm,

Why not those exact sensors, an employee to read the sensors and a pilot in a Cessna.....Now with the Predator we know there is always a ground based pilot and most probably one or more personnel running the sensors plus a command structure to guide where the drone goes, although commanding "east along the border" and "west along the border" and "go back and check what the sensor picked up" seems rudimentary....

So WHY a 10 million dollar aircraft fit to carry munitions??? Sarah Palin proved a good pilot and a 30.06 can put a damn-damn on a target...Either it's pork for defense contractors or neocon militarism which pushes posse commitatus or they have future plans for the weapons rails.

In any case it smells bad and the policy needs review. I'm sick of 30.06 problems being cured with missiles....I ain't GOT a "homeland", just a sick country I used to love.