Predator Drone Mistakenly Kills 2 U.S. Soldiers: Report

gimmesometruth27

so we employ these pilotless drone to keep from putting our airmen in danger, so we can blow up our other soldiers on the ground i guess....do we really think that these predator drone strikes are a good idea? we are killing civillians and even our own troops. disgraceful....if you can't positively identify a target why the hell would you push the button in the first place?????

Predator Drone Mistakenly Kills 2 U.S. Soldiers: Report
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/1 ... 47767.html

Two U.S. service members were killed last week in a drone airstrike that is believed to be the first instance of friendly-fire deaths from drone attacks, NBC News is reporting.

The attack, which took place in Afghanistan's restive Helmand province, appears to be a case of mistaken identity. Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith and Navy Corpsman Benjamin Rast were reportedly coming to serve as reinforcements for a group of Marines coming under fire in the region. The Marines were watching live video of the battlefield provided by a drone; when they saw infrared "hotspots" approaching, they ordered the drone strike. The hotspots were actually Smith, 26, and Rast, 23, according to NBC.

The U.S. government is investigating the incident, and "the families of both service members have been informed of the possibility this was a friendly fire incident," reports NBC.

The controversy surrounding U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan was highlighted last month when a particularly deadly drone strike killed 36 people, most of them civilians, according to intelligence officials. Pakistan pulled out of high level talks about the future of Afghanistan in protest.

President Obama has ordered a "record number" of Predator strikes during his administration, reports Newsweek.

Cosmo

The future of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will see drones designed to go out on pre-determined missions and conduct threat assessments during the mission. This means, a drone is programmed to complete a mission. While en route, if it encounters an object, it (the onboard computer) will determine friend or foe and assess the threat level. It will prioritize the threat. If the assessment concludes it is a greater threat, it will destroy it. If not, it will proceed on its mission and attack it on its way back to base.
Drone autonomy is already here. This is an article where a unmanned, unpiloted drone land on a carrier at sea:
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=22038
...
There are already autonomous armed unmanned land vehicles deployed:
http://gizmodo.com/#!320433/army-rolls- ... -overlords

Jason P

Skynet will soon be operational.