It's (Probably) Not a Flying Saucer

If in the near future you happen to be up along the Canadian border and see what appears to be an unidentified flying object...smile. You may be on candid camera...mounted on a US government unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

It has evidently finally dawned on some of our legislators that the technology being used to gather data and images in Iraq and Iran (remember their flying saucer scare several weeks ago) might be able to help protect our own borders. (That revelation qualifies for a "Duh!")

On February 7, 2005, The Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, released a six-page report for Congress entitled Homeland Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Border Security. This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of deploying UAVs along our borders, particularly in areas especially difficult for human agents to monitor. It also discusses the issues Congress will have to consider in making the decision to deploy or not.

Though civil liberties are a big concern whenever spy technology is deployed, the use of UAVs has a lot of potential in non-law enforcement areas. For example, it seems to me that a UAV equipped with appropriate sensors could fly over a major forest fire at lower altitudes in conditions of more limited visibility to gather and send back critical data about the fire. If a UAV can operate in more hostile environments to gather and transmit more timely data safer than a manned aircraft, it seems like a worthwhile investment.