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Legal Issues Surrounding Defense Drones

In: Business and Management

Submitted By naveenbrahmi
Words 3474
Pages 14
Introduction
The term “drone” covers a wide variety of unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones range in size from one pound to 30,000 pounds. Various components can be added to a drone to increase its capability. Drones can be heat-seeking or capable of detecting certain chemicals, for example. Because of the variety of functions of drones, there is a great deal of interest in both public and private sectors in expanding drone usage. As drone use evolves in the United States, there are many legal ramifications to consider. This paper discusses current drone use, the future of drones, and the legal issues involved.
Government Drone Use
Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have shifted the defense landscape not only in the US but also across various other nations. It is an additional layer of defense strategy that deviates from the traditional methods employed thus far. Although they may be used in strategically planned strikes, their primary purpose is in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The US amongst other countries has been spearheading the advancement and use of this growing technology for the last decade. The Department of Defense operates approximately 8000 of these vehicles in their fleet.
The use of drones by the US department of Defense is only one arm of the several other that is operated by the government. Customs and Border Protection Agency, Homeland Security, State fire departments and police departments are other significant users of this controversial technology. Another important aspect to note is the interdepartmental use that is attracted much scrutiny in the recent times. There are very real legal and ethical concerns regarding drones and the Obama administration is working hard on establishing solid policies addressing their governance given the extensive off late use. The following paragraphs will briefly describe some of

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