CIA Gets New Powers To Eliminate Bin Laden As UAVs Get Armed
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/uav-01k.html
The Predator UAV is now being armed with Hellfire anti tank missiles in case
of any unexpected opportunities for termination
US President George W. Bush has explicitly ordered the CIA to eliminate Osama
bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, and has granted the agency sweeping powers
to do so, the Washington Post reported Sunday, quoting senior US government
officials.
The president also added more than one billion dollars to the agency's war on
terrorism, most of it for the new covert action, the report said.
The operation will include what officials said is "unprecedented" coordination
between the Central Intelligence Agency and commando and other military units,
according to the Post.
Bush has instructed the CIA to attack bin Laden's communications, security
apparatus and infrastructure, the paper quoted senior government officials as
saying.
According to the report, US intelligence agencies have identified new and
important specific weaknesses in bin Laden' al-Qaeda network, and these
vulnerabilities will be the focus of the lethal covert action.
"The gloves are off," a senior official told the Post. "Lethal operations that
were unthinkable pre-September 11 are now underway."
Last spring, US intelligence officials obtained high-quality video of bin
Laden but were unable to act on it, the report said.
The video showed the al-Qaeda chief and his entourage at one of his known
locations in Afghanistan. But neither the CIA nor the US military had the
means to shoot a missile or another weapon at him while he was being
photographed.
Since then, the CIA-operated unmanned drone Predator, which normally carries
only high-resolution cameras, has been equipped with Hellfire antitank
missiles that can be fired at targets of opportunity, according to The Post.
The technology was not operational at the time bin Laden was caught on video,
the report said.
SPACEWAR
X-47A Pegasus UAV Rolled Out
Dallas - July 30, 2001
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems Sector (ISS), headquartered
here, announced today that it has completed production of the X-47A Pegasus, a
company-funded, unmanned air vehicle that will be used to demonstrate
aerodynamic qualities suitable for autonomous operation from an aircraft
carrier.
Global Hawk Operating Base Selected
Langley AFB (AFPN) July 27, 2001
The US Air Force has selected Beale Air Force Base, Calif., as the first
Global Hawk main operating base. Air Force officials recently completed an
environmental assessment and found basing 18 of the unmanned aerial vehicles
at Beale would result in no significant environmental impacts.
Northrop Grumman Takes Delivery Of VTUAV Prototype From Schweizer Aircraft
Company
San Diego - July 9, 2001
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems Sector (ISS) has taken
delivery of a second unmanned prototype of the Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and
Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) from Schweizer Aircraft Company, the
airframe manufacturer.
Global Hawk Production Ramps Up Begins
San Diego - June 18, 2001
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems Sector (ISS) has received
$20.5 million from the U.S. Air Force for advanced procurement of long-lead
parts for the start of low-rate initial production of two Global Hawk unmanned
aerial vehicles and one mission control element.
Global Hawk Clocks Up 1,000 Hours
Edinburgh AFB - May 23, 2001
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system developed
for the US Air Force has clocked up more than 1,000 flight hours during its
81st flight while taking part in joint US-Australian wargames off eastern
Australia.
--- --- --- --- ---
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment
We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces superstition.
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