Want to know everything there is about piloting a US Military Predator drone? Probably not on most of our lists of things to do, but just in case it was, the leaked manual for this drone has now hit the Internet, courtesy of PublicIntelligence. This is the full manual that includes everything you need to know about maintaining, troubleshooting, and more. The original manual was crafted in 2010 by Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems and, obviously, wasn’t meant for the general public.

So what does the drone let you do? Basically it’ll provide information about approaching enemies, perform surveillance, report enemy movement and activity, and even fire upon the enemy, if needed. Probably not the most exciting read of the century for those of us that aren’t part of US Intelligence, but it’s still always kind of interesting how this classified items end up in front of any all who would see them. Sure, the manual might be free and easily accessible for all to see, but don’t expect to get your hands on one of these at your local big box retailer. If you really want to use one though? Uncle Sam could always use a few more good men.

You can check out the full manual right here:
US Drone Flight Guide

[ source ]

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They literally turn the tide of battles and with the valuable intelligence and images they provide to command centres, have saved many soldiers, be it in the Middle East, Afghanistan or Eastern Europe.

Reconnaissance saves lives and in modern day war, going into an engagement without the intelligence from UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) drones, which are armed with sophisticated electronics for imagery and sensing, is like walking in blindfolded.

UAV drones and its impact would have taken on another dimension if the feasibility study done by Sandia National Laboratories and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation hadn’t been ended. Their project summary, which was obtained and published by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), indicates that scientists are checking out the possibility of nuclear-powered drones which will increase the operating time of drones by months.   Sandia however has since made the following statement: “Sandia is often asked to look at a wide range of solutions to the toughest technical challenges. The research on this topic was highly theoretical and very conceptual. The work only resulted in a preliminary feasibility study and no hardware was ever built or tested. The project has ended.”

Being a touchy area, the word “nuclear” was not mentioned in the project summary published by FAS.  But there are clear indications in the research summary that the researchers are working on power sources other than derived from petroleum products and that the primary source under investigation is nuclear.

The FAS points out at words used in the report such as “safeguards,” “decommissioning and disposal,” suggesting that the technology being considered is nuclear. Besides, Dr Steven B Dron, the lead investigator for the project at Sandia, is a nuclear propulsion expert, says FAS. Sandia hasn’t flatly denied FAS’s assumptions either.

The question was that in the quest for more surveillance time, is the army willing to take the nuclear risk, as there are possibilities of it becoming a “dirty bomb” if it happens to crash or be shot down over a rural area.

Then there is the possibility of the technology falling into the wrong hands. There have been instances when opposing forces have gotten their hands on drones and imagine if that drone happens to be one powered by nuclear technology. The consequences of such a technology falling into the hands of a rogue state could be disastrous.

The project would also likely to face opposition, both philosophical and political. So the likelihood of a nuclear-powered eye flying, rather permanently, over our heads will not happen in the near future.

Till thenThis project has ended, however others could surface, until then, the drones have to make pit-stops before going back to their peeping-tom duties.

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