posted 09-09-2002 01:45 AM
Let's not forget my personal favorite...the pride of the CIA..(and operated by them)Predator
From a Defense related website:
Was Osama bin Laden killed by a Predator-launched Hellfire missile during the attacks of Feb. 4-5?
He probably was not. During the first week of February, a CIA-FLOWN (mech's Emphasis) Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) launched several Hellfire missiles against human targets in the Zhawar Killi region in eastern Afghanistan, an area suspected to host extensive al Qaeda tunnel complexes. A least one Hellfire was shot on Monday, Feb. 4. A "tall man who was being treated with great deference" was amongst the three men killed. (Washington Post, Feb. 11, 2002) While U.S. intelligence thought that the group signified a meeting of Al-Qaeda leadership, local residents claim that the dead men were villagers not related to Osama bin Laden’s group. On Tuesday, Feb. 5, a Hellfire missile apparently killed a group of Afghan youths in the same region.
How many Predators UAVs exist?
There are conflicting reports as to how many exist. Produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, there were initially around 60 Predators in the U.S. Air Force's arsenal. However, the Predators are very sensitive to inclement weather and can crash at a relatively high rate while landing: an estimated 19 had been lost prior to the war in Afghanistan, largely because of these two reasons. Due to the loss of seven Predators in the past six months, steps are being taken to ensure their replacement. The Bush administration has repeatedly used the weaponized Predator as an example of a military system that has evolved to meet modern warfare requirements, and this presidential support shows: in the FY'03 DoD budget numbers released in early February, $158 million was requested to buy 22 more Predators. The CIA also has weaponized Predator UAVs, but the agency has been quiet on the number in its arsenal.
How many Predators are deployed in Afghanistan?
As of the end of November, there were about a dozen Predators being flown by the CIA and U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan. However, there have been three Predator crashes so far (one in November and two in the last week of January), all reportedly the result of the UAVs reacting poorly to bad weather, so there are an estimated nine Predators in Afghanistan currently.
When were the Hellfires first tested on the Predators?
The Predator was never designed to be a combat UAV. It was during its usage in the 1999 Kosovo campaign that military planners first considered replacing one of its cameras with a laser designator so that it could have offensive capabilities. Because the Hellfire missile had initially been designed to be launched off of a helicopter, the Predator engineers were skeptical that the UAV could handle launching the missile. However, the first test of a Hellfire on a Predator took place in February 2001 against a stationary tank and was a success. In a series of tests during 2001, the Hellfire hit its target 12 out of 16 times.
Who has militarized Predators?
The U.S. Air Force and the CIA both have Predators with combat capabilities, that is, they have been specially outfitted with Hellfire anti-tank missiles. However, as of the end of January, the Air Force had yet to use Predators in an offensive manner. The CIA's Predators were most likely the UAVs involved in the Zhawar Killi attacks as the Pentagon has denied any involvement.
Against what kind of targets are the Hellfires being used?
The Predator UAVs have been monitoring vehicle traffic and using Hellfires against SUV convoys, buildings, and ? most recently ? against human targets.
How many Hellfire missiles have been fired in Afghanistan by Predator UAVs?
It's an undetermined number, but apparently dozens. This past fall, Pentagon officials bragged of a nearly "100 percent record of hits" in "several dozens of attacks." Reports suggest that the CIA's Predators have since then been involved in other attacks.
What other types of UAVs are being used in Afghanistan, and are they armed?
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk UAV is also being flown by the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan. It, however, is not armed. The Global Hawk can fly at a higher altitude than the Predator, giving it a somewhat higher level of security against anti-air artillery strikes. However, it also suffers from a propensity to crash during bad weather: one of the two Global Hawks being used in Afghanistan crashed in December 2001. This severely limited the system's surveillance capabilities, as the aircraft that went down carried the only remaining electro-optical/infrared payload available for the Global Hawk. The other Global Hawk being flown in Afghanistan will use its synthetic aperture radar to send pictures for military analysis.
Anecdotes about Hellfire usage:
"Last week, the CIA sent a Predator over Afghanistan after receiving a call for help from rebel leader Abdul Haq, who had entered southern Afghanistan in the hopes of spurring an anti-Taliban uprising. The Predator fired one missile and killed some Taliban troops, but couldn't prevent Haq from being captured and executed, a U.S. official said." (Newsday, Nov. 1, 2001)
"The drone pinpointed the house where a group of senior al Qaeda officials, including Muhammad Atef, had gathered and relayed live video pictures of the scene to C.I.A. and military officials, who called in strikes from a Navy F/A-18 fighter-bomber. As people fled the building, the Predator opened fire on them with Hellfire missiles. Finally, it circled over the area, assessing the damage." (New York Times, Nov. 23, 2001)
"On one occasion in Afghanistan, a Predator supplied real-time video pictures of a nighttime Taliban convoy stopping at a hotel, enabling nearby F-15s to attack the building. The Predator, according to a Bush administration official, then tracked fleeing Taliban vehicles and destroyed them with its own Hellfire missiles, apparently before the victims realized they were being followed." (International Herald Tribune, Dec. 28, 2001)
[Edited 3 times, lastly by Mech on 09-09-2002]
Chemtrail Central Forum
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
posted 08-12-2002 11:55 AM
posted 08-12-2002 07:14 PM
posted 10-29-2002 12:34 PM
posted 10-29-2002 06:11 PM
