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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Is America Ready for Unmanned Drones?

    The Obama Administration has made unmanned, remotely-controlled drones famous — or infamous -- for the targeted killings of enemies overseas. Predators and Reapers are able to carry missiles and 500-pound bombs.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    The Obama Administration has made unmanned, remotely-controlled drones famous — or infamous -- for the targeted killings of enemies overseas. Predators and Reapers are able to carry missiles and 500-pound bombs. The new Switchblade weighs six pounds all by itself, fits into a rucksack, and can take out a rooftop sniper without destroying the building he stands on. In the next few years, the FAA says, tens of thousands of drones -- some small enough to fly inside buildings -- will be flying within the borders of the US. In the meantime, the $6 billion drone industry has developed a voluntary Code of Conduct. What will they be used for? Should law enforcement install weapons on board? Will surveillance violate privacy rights? What about sharing air space with airplanes big and small? We look at the benefits and the risks of a $6 billion industry that's just beginning to grow.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Drones Provide an Eye in the Sky, but Who's Watching Them?
    1. 0:00After Romney's Haul, Obama Steps Up Fundraising Efforts
    2. 7:29Is America Ready for Unmanned Drones?You’re reading this
    3. 42:55Congolese Warlord Thomas Lubanga Sentenced by the ICC
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Caitlin Shamberg

      KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      W.J. Hennigan

      Opinion Writer at The New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Peter W. Singer

      Brookings Institution

    • KCRW placeholder

      Catherine Crump

      American Civil Liberties Union

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Drones Provide an Eye in the Sky, but Who's Watching Them?
    1. 0:00After Romney's Haul, Obama Steps Up Fundraising Efforts
    2. 7:29Is America Ready for Unmanned Drones?You’re reading this
    3. 42:55Congolese Warlord Thomas Lubanga Sentenced by the ICC
    Back to To the Point