Tag: US Drones

A Century of Drone Crashes

Chris Cole

This week  the USAF released an accident investigation report into the crash of a US Predator drone in Afghanistan in April 2012.  This crash brings the number of drone crashes in our updated database  to 100 (see full database here) and so we thought it a good time to do some data crunching.

Our database primarily contains details of crashes of  Class 2 and Class 3 UAVs (i.e. medium and large drones – see here for explanation of drone class and size) since January 2007.  However  there are a few occasions when small drone crashes have been included for some notable reasons (i.e. crashed with another aircraft).  We continue to maintain this database  as, although safety and reliability is a key issue in the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles, nobody appears to be publicly compiling  drone crash information.   We are not claiming that our database is complete.  Given the secretive nature of drone operations and development, it is highly likely that other drone crashes have occurred and not been publicly reported. Read more →

British parliamentarians condemn US drone strikes as its revealed that RAF pilots controlled US drones over Libya

Chris Cole
NATO airstrike between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah

On the day that 12 British parliamentarians wrote a joint letter to The Times calling on President Obama to stop drone strikes in Pakistan, it has been revealed that RAF pilots flew US drones during the Libyan conflict last year.

The UK has repeatedly insisted, in response to questions about UK involvement in the US drone strikes in Pakistan for example, that it has only every operated drones over Afghanistan.  However in a written answer in the House of Lords, on the last day before recess, UK Defence Minister Lord Astor revealed: Read more →

CodePink’s Drone Summit

Chris Cole

Over the weekend Codepink, CCR and Reprieve hosted an international summit on drone warfare  in Washington DC.  Unfortunately we were not able to attend but did take part ‘virtually’ via twitter and livestream feed.

Lots of videos and more from the sessions will be posted soon on their new Drones Watch website.  However one of the highlights of the event, a speech by Jeremy Scahill of The Nation, one of the few journalists to travel to countries where the covert drone war is playing out, is already available thanks to Kevin Gosztola, and well worth watching (see Kevin’s blog post here)

Drone Summit participants outside U.S. Supreme Court

More drone strikes looming

Chris Cole

Last Thursday President Obama, flanked by an array of senior military officers, stood in front of the media at the Pentagon to announce a new US military plan.  The new defence plan is aimed at shaping the US military, as Obama put it, “in light of the changing geopolitical environment and our changing fiscal circumstances”.  While numerous columns have been written about the plan,  it has been summed up neatly by more than one commentator as a future of ‘drones, special ops and cyber warware’.

The US has launched two major wars over the past decade, spending billions of dollars on putting thousands of boots on the ground.  In these more strained financial times however a less  expensive (financially at least) way of waging future wars is needed and armed unmanned drones are seen as the way forward. By cutting the number of troops and ground equipment, and using ‘remote warfare’ – launching weapons from drones thousands of miles away  the US will be able to continue to maintain its military presence but at cut price.  Or so the theory goes.   The devil, as always, is in the detail but don’t be surprised when the US military budget is released next month to see  – amidst all the headlines of military cuts –  an increase in funding for drones.

Meanwhile the ‘pause’ in US drone strikes in Pakistan since mid-November continues but maybe not for much longer.

US drone strikes have been suspended since the US killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in an airstrike, causing outrage amongst the Pakistani public and a crisis in relations between the US and Pakistani governments.

However a propaganda campaign is now underway to get the drone strikes reinstated.  US officials have been briefing the main US press that the pause is harmful and allowing militants to re-group and  operate freely while in Pakistan the ground is being prepared for the reinstatement of US strikes with ‘sources’ telling the Pakistan media that ‘fresh terms of engagements’ are being agreed between the governments that will see a resumption of the strikes.  Bizarrely a petition has also been started on change.org calling on the US (and UK!) government to restart the drone strikes but so far only 27 people have signed up.

So it seems that both in the short-term and long-term more drone strikes are coming.   An unhappy New Year indeed.