PREDATOR DRONES BECOME PREY

PREDATOR DRONES BECOME PREY
Predator drones are the high-tech darlings of the new war. Too bad they're so slow, dumb, noisy, and near-sighted that almost anything stronger than a peashooter could take them down.
In recent months, the bulbous-nosed, 27 foot-long unmanned aerial vehicles (or "UAVs") have spied on Saddam, taken out terrorists in Yemen, and become the fancy-pants weapon that demonstrates American dominance on the battlefield. Now, the U.S. government is considering using the drones to patrol our borders and monitor our shores.
But, like the first Gulf War's Patriot missile, the Predator isn't all its cracked up to be. Nearly half of the military's 60-or-so plane Predator fleet has crashed or been taken out. On Wednesday, the Iraqis claimed to have destroyed their second American drone in a month. Two more have gone down in Pakistan since the start of the New Year.
Check out my latest Tech Central Station article for more on the Predator's shortcomings.