Troops patrolling boarders and surveying land are unable to do their job as efficiently as possible both during wartime and out of wartime.

Troops are known to patrol and survey the land and when they leave intruders often try to penetrate boarders.

Lack of adequate personnel to survey land and protect borders while being unnoticed poses a threat to security.

National and international borders are all susceptible to intrusion even with patrolling on a regular basis.

The Middle East

The United States

The Predator

Potential Issues: Analysis of Proposed Technology

Primary Function: Armed reconnaissance, airborne surveillance and target acquisition Contractor: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Incorporated Power Plant: Rotax 914F four cylinder engine Thrust: 115 horsepowerWingspan: 55.25 feet (16.8 meters) Length: 27 feet (8.22 meters) Height: 6.9 feet (2.1 meters) Weight: 1,130 pounds ( 512 kilograms) empty Maximum takeoff weight: 2,250 pounds (1,020 kilograms) Fuel Capacity: 665 pounds (100 gallons) Payload: 450 pounds (204 kilograms)

Speed: Cruise speed around 84 mph (70 knots), up to 135 mph Range: up to 400 nautical miles (454 miles) Ceiling: up to 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) Armament: two laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missiles Crew (remote): Three (pilot, sensor operator, and mission intelligence coordinator)Initial operational capability: March 2005 Unit Cost: $20 million (fiscal 2009 dollars) (includes four aircraft, ground control stations, and Predator Primary Satellite Link)Inventory: Active force, 130; ANG, 8; Reserve, 0

Can replace manned reconnaissance on the ground

Can go undetected to the human eye on the ground

New model can carry a payload of 450 lbs

Controlled remotely from ground control far away from action

Operates not by itself but using: a ground control station, a Predator Primary Satellite Link, operations crews and maintenance crews for deployed 24-hour operations

Cost effectiveness when doing reconnaissance in both small and large areas.

We won’t lose as many soldiers on the battlefield.

We can do reconnaissance without being spotted, due to ability to climb to such a high altitude

Some are equipped with weaponry which can be used to strike down targets

Makes intruders always aware of what is going on around. They would know they could be located and killed or detained

within moments of being seen by the Predator. They can see through clouds. They're 1/20th of the weight of a fighter jet so they can fly longer

on less fuel.

Initial cost is high at approx. $20 million per plane.

Equipping the Predator with weapons can become expensive.

Requires trained individuals to operate them.

There is a high operation cost associated with the plane

Can’t just stop and ask questions to a potential intruder.

Sometimes during in climate weather conditions communication with the UAV is broken

They are a disruptive technology They have revolutionized the

way reconnaissance and intelligence gathering has been done.

They are a technology will receive very little push-back because people realize how effective they are, and can use this to their advantage (Air Force and CIA).

Future Vision of the

Predator

UAVs such as the Predator will one day replace manned fighter jets. This leaves people at a command center in charge. Communicate is more efficient in a calmer setting

compared to being in the air doing dog fights while listening to the C.O.

It will be used more heavily in combat because the lives of soldiers are not being put at risk

Will become a main reconnaissance tool for boarder security for the U.S. and other boarders the U.S. protects.

UAV's will mitigate the problem of people sneaking in illegal immigrants or harmful items such as bomb and narcotics. They will do this by keeping constant surveillance over

our boarders Provides a safer means for the military to conduct

air missions and not put soldiers lives at risk Enable information to be collected without the

knowledge of those being tracked, thus preventing individuals from trying to run away.

When people realize the fullest potential of a UAV such as the Predator, all agencies of Homeland Security will be more likely to adopt it.

It provides us with a tool to better protect our home front from intruders and people trying to get into the country.

In natural disasters like Katrina, first responders could use the predator to spot individuals trapped over areas we could not normally see and send teams in to save those trapped individuals .

The U.S. government is funding much of the development of this technology though it is being created and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Incorporated

The Air Force and the CIA are currently employing this technology for information and reconnaissance gathering

In August 2005, the US Department of Homeland Security / Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) ordered two Predator systems for monitoring of the USA's south-west border.

Agencies that might protest the wide use of UAV's is the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). They would not want UAV's

being the the paths of their jets that they are trying to control.

The only exception is that they may have an altitude law where the UAV may not go above a certain height because it could become a danger to the jets if they crashed into it.

This would create more work for Air Traffic Controllers.

May interfere with peoples privacy rights since they cannot see if they are being watched

Recommendation

This technology should be leveraged more to help solve problems for our military and Homeland Security agencies such as CBP, FBI, etc.

As time goes on, UAV's will become smaller, faster, fly higher and stream better images.

They should eventually replace fighter jets, and in doing so they will save many American lives.

They should be used whereever we are warring and harnessed to protect our troops

At home, these should be used to the fullest extent to prevent illegal aliens from entering the country and sneaking in narcotics

All agencies should adopt this technology because it is the way of the future. Either you keep up with technology, or you get left behind.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/predator8.htm http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/images/uav-

predator6.jpg http://www.davidson.edu/academic/history/Berkey/

maps/Middle_East98.jpg ttp://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/images/uav-

predator6.jpg http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?

fsID=122 http://usmilitary.about.com/od/uavs/a/mq1.htm http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/predator/