June 14th, 2012 by Steven Aftergood
The Department of Defense has identified 110 sites in the United
States that could serve as bases for military unmanned aerial systems
(UAS), or drones. A new
report to Congress lists each of the 110 sites “and the UAS likely to fly at that location.” See
“Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, Operations, and Sustainability,” Department of Defense, April 2012 (pp. 9-12).
The newly disclosed DoD report was first reported by
InsideDefense.com.
The actual or potential drone bases are located in 39 of the 50
states, from Fort McClellan in Alabama to Camp Guernsey in Wyoming, as
well as Guam and Puerto Rico.
Currently, the DoD and the military have “88 active certificates of
authorization (COAs) at various locations around the country” that
permit them to fly UASs outside of restricted military zones, the report
to Congress said. COAs are issued by the Federal Aviation
Administration.
But “The rapid increase in fielded UAS has created a strong demand
for access within the NAS [National Airspace System] and international
airspace. The demand for airspace to test new systems and train UAS
operators has quickly exceeded the current airspace available for these
activities,” the
report said.
The Senate Armed Services Committee, evidently receptive to this
demand, said in its report on the FY2013 defense authorization act that
integration of drones into domestic airspace should be accelerated. See
“Senate: Drones Need to Operate ‘Freely and Routinely’ in U.S.,” Secrecy News, June 8, 2012.
The website
Public Intelligence previously identified 64 U.S. drone site locations. See also
“Revealed: 64 Drone Bases on American Soil” by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Wired Danger Room, June 13:
“UAS will not achieve their full potential military utility unless
they can go where manned aircraft go with the same freedom of
navigation, responsiveness, and flexibility,” the new DoD
report to Congress said.
A bill “to protect individual privacy against unwarranted
governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles” (
HR 5925) was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 7 by Rep. Austin Scott. A companion bill (
S.3287) has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Rand Paul.
