As the United States continues to use drones in order to bomb the terrorist group known as ISIS in both Syria and Iraq, the Washington Post is reporting that the Navys largest drone ever, Triton, has successfully flown cross-country in its longest test flight to date.
Triton completed the 11-hour flight from California to Maryland on September 19th. The aircraft is designed as a surveillance drone with the ability to provide a 360-degree field of coverage for ship detection. The drone is capable of a 24-hour mission time and can fly as high as 10 miles above ground. It is the Navys largest and most advanced unmanned surveillance system to ever fly cross-country. The Navy is hopeful that the drone will be in operation by 2017.
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As science and technology allow us to make such huge advance with regard to drones, both in wartime efforts and for more simple domestic measures, what do we really know about these computers in flight? What exactly is a drone and how does the United States use them? What are the legal implications of a civilian operating a drone and what is the effect on another citizens right to privacy?
What is a Drone?
A drone is an unmanned, remotely piloted aircraft. Usually, a drone carries a camera on it in order to gather intelligence as it flies over an area. However, as we have recently seen in Syria and Iraq, drones may also carry missiles and have the ability to drop bombs upon a region.
Drones come in many shapes and sizes. The Raven, for example, has only a 4.5-foot wingspan and weighs 4.2 pounds. Compare that to the multi-mission Reaper, which has a wingspan of 66 feet and weighs over two tons. Both the Raven and Reaper are most often used by the U.S. military; however, there are drones available to the public for private civilian use. The Parrot AR Drone retails on Amazon.com for $299.99 and can be control by your Android device.
How are Drones Used the United States?
The majority of drones operating in the United States are used for either military operations or scientific research.
NASA uses drones in order to conduct various scientific research and to monitor different environmental changes throughout the country. Meteorologists utilize drones during weather events for example, a drone has the capability of flying directly into a hurricane and measuring wind speed.
The military, on the other hand, utilize drones as a way to keep pilots out of harms way. This is especially true when conducting a mission overseas. Peter Singer, from the Brookings Institute, summarized military drone use as for missions with one of “the 3 Ds” dull, dirty or dangerous.
For example, drones are used to scan an area for Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs. The most well known IED is the roadside bomb used to kill U.S. military patrols in Iraq. A drone may be able to spot such a device and warn soldiers to avoid the dangerous area.
Drones are also used to fly over land to spy on militants. Famously, a U.S. drone was used to spy on Osama Bin Laden’s house in Pakistan, leading to the U.S.s killing of Bin Laden in 2011.
However, with the availability of relatively inexpensive and small drones for retail sale, it is interesting to think of what your neighbor may be doing with his or her personal drone. Many retail drones provide a high-definition, live video stream of what the drone is flying over directly to the pilots cell phone or iPad.
Laws Controlling Drone Use in the United States
Drone technology has given us the ability to instruct a drone to fly right up to your home window and take a look at exactly what you are doing – and then record it. Surprisingly, there are few solid laws that prevent just this from happening.
In 2012, Congress, via the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, empowered the FAA to come up with a plan for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into our countrys airspace by September 2015. So far, the FAA has released general guidelines when it comes to civilian drone use and emphasized safety. According to the FAA, civilians may fly drones legally only for hobby or recreational uses. It is illegal for a civilian to operate a drone above 400 feet and beyond the line of sight for any commercial reason.
Privacy Concerns
To most, it is the privacy issue surrounding civilian operated drones that is most scary. And again, surprisingly, there is little solid law preventing the invasion of your privacy by a drone.
Congress has several drone-privacy bills that are pending but nothing has been passed. For example in 2013, the Preserving American Privacy Act was introduced. The Act would prevent privately-owned drones from recording data in highly offensive ways that would violate a citizens reasonable expectation of privacy.
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While Congress does little to nothing concerning this issue, many state legislatures are taking matters into their own hands to protect their citizens privacy. Both Texas and Illinois have enacted civilian drone regulations in their state.
At Brownstone Law, we understand the complexity of federal regulations and law. Our appellate attorneys are skilled at understand and explaining the effects of such laws. If you would like more information concerning the law on drones or help with your appeal, please contact us today.
