As part of the global ‘Keep Space for Peace’, Ground the Drones Week of Action is happening this week. Protests, public meetings, street stalls and vigils are being held to raise awareness and resist the growing use of drones. A more in-depth report will follow later but here are a few photos and links as they come in….
Vigil held outside Paradigm Secure Communications operations centre in Hawthorn Wiltshire. paradigm operates the Skynet satellite system on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, through which British Reaper drones are controlled.
Lively protest outside Thales factory in Leicester where the new joint UK-Israeli drone ‘Watchkeeper’ is being built.
Drones were big news at this year’s DSEi arms fair, with many of the smaller ‘niche’ players launching new product and the ‘big boys’ showing off their wares and engaging in verbal fisticuffs about whose drone was biggest/ brightest/best.
established in the market, winning funds to develop a future European combat drone is vital for these military corporations. Many, not least the UK’s Defence Minister Peter Luff, has predicted that there will be no more ‘manned’ aircraft developed after this current generation of fighters; the future they suggest is drone.
The platform can go ‘from box to launch in under five minutes’ and the only time-consuming thing during a mission is ‘waiting for the GPS’. [It] has a ‘shake and start’ engine, a 40 minute endurance, and folded wings for easy carriage. It is derived from the company’s larger Black Star, of which the UK MoD is a customer. It was developed in 18 months with police input, and is ultimately designed for special forces operations, [Company spokesperson] Williams-Wynn said.
An excellent article on other small drones on show at DSEi this year, including Spy Arrow, Shirk and Switchblade can be read here at the National Defense Magazine blog.
Thales, joint manufacturer of the new Watchkeeper drone along with Israeli company Elbit, were also at the arms fair and promoting Watchkeeper . Below you can watch a short clip of Nick Miller – Thales business director for UAVs – promoting Watchkeeper during the DSEI fair (clip from flightglobal.com)
Meanwhile, Qinetiq, were promoting their ‘West Wales UAV Centre’ – where the Watchkeeper drone is currently being tested – at DSEi. The owners of the centre at Parc Aberporth, site of a number of protests against drones already , are keen to attract more drone manufacturers. While each individual Watchkeeper drone will undergo testing at Parc Aberporth until at least 2014, it appears there is still plenty of room for more drones – and no doubt more protests.
Speaking of which, the Fellowship of Reconciliation and SPEAK organised a protest outside General Atomics’ London office during the DSEi arms fair. The manufacturers of the Predator and Reaper drone were curiously absent from DSEi this year – so protesters went to visit them. Below you can seen Amy Hailwood of FoR speaking about drones against the background of the protest.
Thousands of military buyers will descend on London next week to be wooed, wined and dined by military salesmen from the world’s largest arms companies. Many of those buyers will arrive with the same item at the top of their shopping list: drones.
Since the last Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair in 2009, drones have become the latest ‘must have’ weapon and companies large and small are plying their drone wars (sorry, wares) at this year’s show. Of course the word ‘drone’ is unlikely to pass any self-respecting military salesman’s lips; ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’ (UAV) or preferably’ Remotely Piloted Aerial System’ (RPAS) are the de-rigueur terms when it come to striking deals – at least in public.
Recognising the huge desire for drones, DSEi have created the ‘Robotics and Unmanned Systems Showcase’; a special “football pitch-sized” dedicated arena that will be used for demonstrations of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and UAVs during the show. DSEi Exhibition Director, Duncan Reid, said,
“The Unmanned Systems market is an area of tremendous growth and our feature area will provide both exhibitors and visitors with a real opportunity to interact, see some of the latest technologies and gain a deeper understanding of how these types of robots can help in the battlespace.”
Drones on display at the show will include BAE Systems’ autonomous Mantis drone, the Global Hawk from Northrop Grumman, the new Watchkeeper drone built jointly between Israeli company Elbit and Thales UK; and the Dominator drone (presumably as close as they could name it to ‘the Terminator’ without infringing copyright) from Diamond Airborne Sensing. Strangely however, there seems to be no sign of General Atomics or its Predator, Reaper or Avenger drones at this year’s DSEi.
Helen is calling for support from fellow activists, protesters and campers, from within UK and internationally. The camp is open to all. It is intended that the camp at RAF Waddington will be mixed, and not ‘Women only’ as some protest camps are. The only request made to anyone willing or wishing to attend is that no booze or drugs are brought to the camp.
It is hoped that some communal facilities will be available from the outset but in the early stages visitors/campers are advised to arrive reasonably self sufficiently equipped. Anyone wishing to attend the camp but needing camping equipment should email Kate, ktholcombe@aol.com or phone on 0774 8015601 to discuss their requirements. Where possible stuff will be provided for anyone in need.
Helen says:
I learnt recently that RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire had become the home base for the Reaper Stealth bombers (Drones). I was horrified. Having lived through WW2, I witnessed the destruction of my grandmother’s house, cut in two by a V11 rocket (as we then called them).
I feel deeply ashamed that we now in the 21st century are bringing back Nazi technology to blight the future. Killing and maiming others for oil it
appears, while our ‘pilots’ sit in comfort and safety at their computer consuls, thousands of miles away. Murder by remote control. Whatever next?
Will we follow Werner Von Braun, the inventor of this weapons system? He hung 800 prisoners of war and left the corpses hanging as a daily reminder to the captive workforce not to continue sabotage.
We have seen the back of Cruise Missiles, the son of Von Braun, now we have the grandson Drones. Do we want them? – NO.
Von Braun and other prominent Nazis were welcomed with open arms into the U.S.A after a change in the constitution – what have we gained or lost? Can we afford this criminal folly, I think not.
Ground the Drones: A Week of Action:
1st – 8th October 2011
Over the past few years we have witnessed the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, to undertake armed attacks around the globe. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia have all been subject to drone strikes by US or British drones controlled from many thousands of miles away. Palestine is also subjected to drone strikes from Israel.
Although there are claims that the drone strikes are precise and accurate, there are many reports – particular from Pakistan where media are able to obtain first hand reports – of high numbers of civilian casualties. Just this month the MoD admitted that four Afghan civilians had been killed in a British drone strike.
Legal experts as well as peace and human rights organisations have expressed serious concerns about the growing use of armed drones and even some within the British Ministry of Defence have raised questions about the push towards greater autonomy for armed drones.
During the week of 1st to 8th October, as part of International Keep Space for Peace Week, the Drones Campaign Network is encouraging organisations, local groups and individuals to engage in actions to both raise public awareness about drones and to engage in action to ‘ground the drones’.
A briefing for the week is now available and includes :
information on drones,
a map of places in UK with connections to the ‘drone wars’
The Drones Campaign Network in the UK is calling for a week of action to protest the growing use of armed drones from 1st – 8th October. The week will be part of the international ‘Keep Space for Peace Week’, which this year is focusing on the use of drones.
Recently, Libya has been added to the list of countries subjected to drone strikes by US and British forces, joining Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Iraq. Gaza, too it hardly needs to be said, has regularly faced drone strikes by Israeli forces. Unfortunately, the list of countries facing these kind of remote attacks is only likely to grow as US military procurement plans, released in June show that the Pentagon is planning to double its arsenal of large military drones over the next decade. The UK has also announced plans to double the number of armed drones in its arsenal.
Protests against drone strikes are growing in Pakistan and Yemen and the peace and human rights community in the UK needs to add their voices to this call to Ground the Drones
Members of the network will be organising protests at various sites connected to the drone wars throughout the UK. Details will be announced nearer the time.
However if you can’t attend one of these events you may well want to organise something in your local area. Suggestions include meeting with your local MP, organising a speaker meeting about drones or having a stall in your local high street with information and letter/petition signing.
Further details and resources will be available here as we get closer to the event.
Please put the dates in your diary NOW and begin thinking about what you can do locally to Ground the Drones
Vigil held outside Paradigm Secure Communications operations centre in Hawthorn Wiltshire. paradigm operates the Skynet satellite system on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, through which British Reaper drones are controlled.
Thousands of military buyers will descend on London next week to be wooed, wined and dined by military salesmen from the world’s largest arms companies. Many of those buyers will arrive with the same item at the top of their shopping list: drones.
The Drones Campaign Network in the UK is calling for a week of action to protest the growing use of armed drones from 1st – 8th October. The week will be part of the international ‘Keep Space for Peace Week’, which this year is focusing on the use of drones.