Anees
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Russia Is Stockpiling Drones to Spy on Street Protests
Small surveillance drones are starting to be part of police departments across America, and the FAA will soon open up the airspace for more to come. This drone invasion has already raised all kinds of privacy concerns. And if you think thats bad, across the ocean, Russia seems hell-bent on outdoing its former Cold War enemy.
Russias leading manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, Zala Aero, has provided the Russian government with more than 70 unmanned systems, each containing several aircraft. According to an article published yesterday on Open Democracy Russia, the Kremlins romance with drones started in 2006, when the Interior Ministry deployed a Zala 421-04M to monitor street protests at a G8 summit in St. Petersburg. The Russian government has also bought drones from Israel.
Vladimir Putin himself is ready to jump on the drone bandwagon. We need a program for unmanned aircraft. Experts say this is the most important area of development in aviation, he said in early June. We need a range of all types, including automated strike aircraft, reconnaissance and other types. Indeed, Russia is going to allegedly spend around $13 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles through 2020.
According to its Zala executive Maksim Shinkevich, almost every Interior Ministry air group has a drone these days. Their favorite one? The Zala 421-08M, a 5.5-pound, 31-inch wingspan unmanned vehicle equipped with a camera that can fly for 90 minutes at almost 12,000 feet. At the right angle, a drone like this can take a quality snapshot of a cars license plate. What about, say, a protesters face? Capturing faces in any detail would however require a very heavy drone with a good camera; more precisely, with a heavy, specialized platform, Shinkevich told Open Democracy Russia.
No matter, these small drones, like the Zala 421-06, are perfect to monitor dissatisfied Russians marching down the streets. They will be used mainly to maintain public order during local demonstrations and marches, when we shall be keeping watch from the air to avoid any incidents, said Sergei Kanunnikov, the head of the air operation center in the Department of the Interior of the eastern state of Amur.
Russia Is Stockpiling Drones to Spy on Street Protests | Danger Room | Wired.com
Small surveillance drones are starting to be part of police departments across America, and the FAA will soon open up the airspace for more to come. This drone invasion has already raised all kinds of privacy concerns. And if you think thats bad, across the ocean, Russia seems hell-bent on outdoing its former Cold War enemy.
Russias leading manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles, Zala Aero, has provided the Russian government with more than 70 unmanned systems, each containing several aircraft. According to an article published yesterday on Open Democracy Russia, the Kremlins romance with drones started in 2006, when the Interior Ministry deployed a Zala 421-04M to monitor street protests at a G8 summit in St. Petersburg. The Russian government has also bought drones from Israel.
Vladimir Putin himself is ready to jump on the drone bandwagon. We need a program for unmanned aircraft. Experts say this is the most important area of development in aviation, he said in early June. We need a range of all types, including automated strike aircraft, reconnaissance and other types. Indeed, Russia is going to allegedly spend around $13 billion on unmanned aerial vehicles through 2020.
According to its Zala executive Maksim Shinkevich, almost every Interior Ministry air group has a drone these days. Their favorite one? The Zala 421-08M, a 5.5-pound, 31-inch wingspan unmanned vehicle equipped with a camera that can fly for 90 minutes at almost 12,000 feet. At the right angle, a drone like this can take a quality snapshot of a cars license plate. What about, say, a protesters face? Capturing faces in any detail would however require a very heavy drone with a good camera; more precisely, with a heavy, specialized platform, Shinkevich told Open Democracy Russia.
No matter, these small drones, like the Zala 421-06, are perfect to monitor dissatisfied Russians marching down the streets. They will be used mainly to maintain public order during local demonstrations and marches, when we shall be keeping watch from the air to avoid any incidents, said Sergei Kanunnikov, the head of the air operation center in the Department of the Interior of the eastern state of Amur.
Russia Is Stockpiling Drones to Spy on Street Protests | Danger Room | Wired.com
