Pentagon looks to increase drone usage by 50 percent

The Pentagon designs to maximise on a regular basis flights by 50 % in the next for a period of four years, increasing these guys from 61 each day now to some 90 by 2019, the Journal said within this describe overdue Sunday, mentioning chief justification officers.

As well as providing extra surveillance in regions such as Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, the South China Sea and North Africa, the new plan would expand the Pentagon’s capacity for lethal drone air strikes.

Under the phased-in plan, the U.S. Air Force would continue to launch 60 drone flights a day, the Army would dispatch 16 and the Special Forces Command could contribute up to four, according to the newspaper.

Drones such as the MQ-1 Predator and its newer, longer-range cousin, the MQ-9 Reaper, provide real-time video to commanders and intelligence analysts who use the data to track and target militants and conduct surveillance operations, officials said.

Government contractors would also be hired to fly older Predator drones as many as 10 times a day.

There were no immediate cost estimates for the plan from Pentagon officials, the Journal said.

Nonpartisan groups say US drone strikes have killed at least 3,000 people, the Journal reported.