Aviation schools are gearing up to teach students how to fly drones. Dozens of schools now offer courses in what's known as UAS — unmanned aircraft systems — which range from drones as big as small planes to 2-foot-wide mini-helicopters. Embry-Riddle now offers the first UAS master's degree program.
Drones are not just for tracking terrorists abroad. Some 327 are authorized to fly in US airspace – most for military training. But as their numbers grow, so is domestic scrutiny.
Last week, when the West and UN were intervening in a host of problems in Africa, much of the world focused on Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic hero charged with murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Africa needs a better media spotlight.
From gun control to nuclear-weapons cuts to drone warfare, Obama's second term may be highlighted by a need to define new concepts of security for instruments of aggression.
In the latest concern over war tactics against terrorists, President Obama had to release his guidelines for the use of drones in targeted killings. To help ensure constancy and consistency in civic values during wartime, Congress must openly debate this policy.
Iran claims it captured a US drone in its airspace, which the US denies. If true, Iran may have brought the drone down by jamming signals and reconfiguring its GPS coordinates.