64 Drone Bases Now Located Throughout United States
If you think big brother is watching you there’s a chance you’re right. Public Intelligence, a non-profit that advocates for free access to information recently released a map of military UAV activities in the United States.
The map which was assembled through various military reports, including a June 2011 Air Force presentation shows 64 US drone bases on American Soil, including 12 Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles which are capable of armed attacks.
The group does not know how the bases are being utilized, although many could be used for remote operations, allowing military personnel to control unmanned aerial vehicles from overseas. Other bases may also serve as an imagery analysis depot.
Among the other bases are 22 facilities hosting the medium-size Shadow, 20 bases hosting the Raven and 11 featuring the pint-sized Wasp UAV.
If you live in California you may be living in the most well protected area where 10 sites exist, while Texas plays host to six UAV sites.
The American Civil Liberties Union released a report in December 2011 in which they voiced concern over military drones flying over American skies while potentially spying on US citizens. According to the civil rights group “The drones’ presence in our skies threatens to eradicate existing practical limits on aerial monitoring and allow for pervasive surveillance, police fishing expeditions, and abusive use of these tools in a way that could eventually eliminate the privacy Americans have traditionally enjoyed in their movements and activities.”
Military Drones are forbidden from flying American skies outside of test areas, however that doesn’t mean they won’t “accidentally” record activities.
So far the biggest concern appears to be actual human harm after one drone crash landed in Maryland, a crash that raised further questions about military run drone centers in the United States.
