U.S. Customs grounds fleet of drones after crash at sea

[jakeXT]

Source: Reuters , NBC News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has grounded its fleet of drones after a crew was forced to crash a pilotless craft off the coast of Southern California because of a mechanical problem, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

The crew operating the malfunctioning drone deliberately downed it in the Pacific Ocean, 20 miles southwest of San Diego at about 11:15 p.m. local time on Monday, the official said.

The drone and systems on board were worth $12 million, he said.

"While on patrol off the Southern California coast, the unmanned aircraft, a maritime variant of the Predator B, experienced a mechanical failure," U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Michael Friel said in a statement.

Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/28/22483301-us-customs-grounds-fleet-of-drones-after-crash-at-sea?lite

[gonzo_del_oeste]

1. !

the poor things!

[bobclark86]

2. That sucks...

at least nobody died. Old Predators are a lot cheaper than a helicopter with half a dozen guys in it.

[Sunlei]

3. a 12 million dollar drone!?! what a squandering of our Federal dollars :(

satellites can read a license plate, we do not need this expense!

[cstanleytech]

5. Actually the satellite would cost a few hundred million more so drones are actually a good choice

if we are only looking at the costs involved.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. And re-tasking or moving a satellite...

is not a trivial excercise.

[cstanleytech]

10. Plus its both far easier and cheaper to upgrade and maintain a small number of drones

than it is to maintain and upgrade a satellite in orbit.

[Sunlei]

14. we have satellites up now to use for live land and sea 'border patrol'

[KeepItReal]

6. At least Customs is trying to use their drones...*This* is squandering right here:

Congress Overrules Pentagon to Fund Northrop Grumman Drones

Weapons maker Northrop Grumman (2012 revenues: $25.218 billion) made it rain on Congress to the tune of $31 million in lobbying spending since the beginning of 2012, and in return Congress has passed legislation ordering the Air Force to purchase the arms maker’s RQ-4 Global Hawk, a high-altitude surveillance drone the military canceled nearly two years ago.

...

In the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act signed in January, Congress ordered the Air Force to fly and maintain its 18 Global Hawks through 2014 and mandated that no money “may be obligated or expended to retire, prepare to retire, or place [them] in storage.” Even better for Northrop, the 2013 Defense Appropriations Act commanded the Air Force to order three more Global Hawks that had been budgeted in 2012. Most recently, in June, the House Armed Services Committee voted to force the Air Force to use the Global Hawks until at least 2016.

But the Air Force continues to resist. As one officer said, “Why are they making us spend money on something we don’t want or need?”

[unhappycamper]

11. MQ-9 Reaper with console: $25,000,000.00

Hellfire missiles cost another $150,000 a pop.

[hack89]

12. A spy satellite costs about 3 billion dollars.

drones are cheaper even if you crash a few now and then.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Oh what a shame.

[MyNameGoesHere]

8. I am more intrigued on this fleet of drones thing.

When did that happen and exactly how many drones in this fleet?

[jakeXT]

9. I believe the article said 9 or so, today someone is going to jail with evidence from a 2011 drone

flight


Predator Drone Sends North Dakota Man to Jail

What do you say to a drone that makes an arrest?

“Book him, Predator?”

This was no joke for a North Dakota farmer who has the dubious honor of being the first American sentenced to prison with the assistance of a Predator drone. Rodney Brossart was sentenced to three years in prison, of which all but six months was suspended, for a June 2011 incident in which police attempted to arrest him over his failure to return three cows from a neighboring farm that had strayed on to his property.

An armed standoff between Brossart, his three sons and a SWAT team then ensued on Brossart’s property, which ended with Brossart being arrested, and then his sons being located by a border-surveillance Predator borrowed from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), which enabled local police to safely apprehend them, according tolocal newspapers.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2014/01/27/predator-drone-sends-north-dakota-man-to-jail/

[rollin74]

15. US Customs and Border Protection has been using drones since 2005

the fleet size was 10 prior to the crash (now 9)

[Jesus Malverde]

13. The militarization of another civilian role...nt