Sharon Weinberger
Miniature drones and
smaller missiles are now part of the CIA’s arsenal in its clandestine
war aimed at killing al-Qaida and Taliban leaders in Pakistan,
according to The Washington Post.
[aolnews.com] In
a recent drone attack in Pakistan, the CIA used a 35-pound bomb
"probably no bigger than a violin case," the Post reports today. The
idea is that a smaller weapon could kill its intended target but with
fewer unintended casualties, known as "collateral damage."
Reports
on the new missile come amid escalating criticism over the killing of
civilians in the CIA’s drone attacks. In the past, the CIA has relied
on the Predator-launched Hellfire, a missile originally developed as an
anti-tank weapon. The Post’s article suggests the new CIA weapon might
be the Small Smart Weapon, also called the Scorpion, which is produced by Lockheed Martin.
According
to two former intelligence officials, who declined to be identified,
the CIA is now using micro-drones "roughly the size of a pizza platter
[that] are capable of monitoring potential targets at close range, for
hours or days at a stretch," the Post’s story said.
The drone is
small and very quiet, making it deal for spying on potential targets.
The article didn’t specify what type of micro-drone the CIA was using,
but the military has developed a number of small unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV) such as the WASP, a hand-launched weapon used by special forces. That drone, however, can fly for only 45 minutes. The Post story says the CIA micro-drone can fly for many hours.
Though
it’s unclear precisely what the micro-drone could be, the Air Force has
sponsored a micro-UAV project called Project Anubis, which is
specifically designed to help the special forces track "fleeting
targets." In March, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded UAV maker AeroVironment a contract for what appeared to be the final phase of work on Project Anubis.
"The current state of Project Anubis is unknown," defense analyst David Hambling wrote earlier this year on Wired.com
about the secretive project. "It could be one of tens of thousands of
military research efforts that started, made some progress and ended
without a conclusion. Or Anubis could now be in the hands of Air Force
Special Operations Command."
Anubis would solve a fundamental
problem associated with Predator drones, according to Hambling. "It
would follow and catch the most elusive target, and its ability to take
a video sensor close to the target should mean it can be positively
identified before the operator has to make a go or no-go decision," he
wrote.
Whatever the specific drone might be, it wouldn’t the
CIA’s first foray into micro-UAVs. In the 1970s, the agency developed a
UAV designed to look like a large insect. That drone, called the Insectothopter, is now on display in the CIA’s headquarters.
"The flight tests were impressive," the CIA says on its website of that ultimately ill-fated drone. "However, control in any kind of crosswind proved too difficult."
Source: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/report-cia-using-micro-drones-and-smaller-missiles/19454009
