US to ship unarmed drones to Pakistan: Pentagon !!

[VelocuR]

self delete

 

[jeypore]

I love it!!

What is so new about it!!!

 

[ejaz007]

Drones May Ship to Pakistan 'Within a Year': DoD
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 29 Mar 2010 20:30

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon hopes "within a year" to deliver around a dozen unarmed drone aircraft to Pakistan to aid its fight against Islamic extremism, a U.S. senior military official said March 29.

"I would like to think that we would get them there within a year, but quantity and so forth, I think, will depend on what are the right ones, and how many make sense for the fight that they're in," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official told reporters that while the United States is looking at sending about a dozen aircraft to Islamabad, the actual number of drone aircraft "could be more or less, depending on the need."

"What we are trying to do is get with them to be able to articulate the requirements of what they need," the official said.

Efforts are underway by U.S. officials to "match the right equipment to the requirements. That's what we are trying to work them through."

Pakistan previously has also urged Washington to outfit its military with armed aerial vehicles like the Predator and Reaper.

U.S. drone missile strikes against Al-Qaeda and Taliban figures in Pakistan have fueled anti-American sentiment because of civilian casualties, and drawn public condemnation from the government in Islamabad.

The United States has carried out nearly 100 attacks with unmanned drones in Pakistan since August 2008, killing more than 830 people. Figures range widely on how many civilians have been killed.

The unnamed official said Washington could supply around a dozen smaller, unarmed Shadow drones to Islamabad, to help with their surveillance and reconnaissance activities.

"We looked at Shadows, we looked at ScanEagles," among other drones, the official said. "Shadow drones may in fact be the right platform at the end of the day."

Shadow drones - smaller than the armed Predator and Reaper aircraft - are about 11 feet (three meters) long and have a wing-span of 14-feet (4.3 meters) with sensors and cameras feeding video images back to operators on the ground.

Pakistan's military already has some drones of its own production which it uses for surveillance, but which are less sophisticated than those manufactured by the United States.

Last week, Pakistan's foreign minister said the United States would improve its public standing if it let Islamabad spearhead armed drone attacks.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington for high-level talks, acknowledged in a CNN interview that drone attacks by U.S. forces against Islamic extremists on Pakistani soil have "taken out some valuable targets."

But he said: "The issue of sovereignty is there. People of Pakistan feel strongly about it.

"We want the ownership. We make the decision when to operate," he said. "It will help improve the feelings in Pakistan," he said.

Drones May Ship to Pakistan 'Within a Year': DoD - Defense News

 

[s6demon]

why do we need this from the u.s. when we already make our own?

 

[IceCold]

I thought we rejected shadow drones. Why now? What happened to the terminology " Too little too Late"

 

[Rank]

I thought we rejected shadow drones. Why now? What happened to the terminology " Too little too Late"

Same question in my mind....

 

[jeypore]

I thought we rejected shadow drones. Why now? What happened to the terminology " Too little too Late"

Isn't that a big question for Obama Administration....

I highly doubt that is going to stop, since a solution to this has to be found, and problem to the whole solution really lies in Pakistan, atleast that's what Americans think!!!

My question is, are they really wrong....

especially hereing this:

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington for high-level talks, acknowledged in a CNN interview that drone attacks by U.S. forces against Islamic extremists on Pakistani soil have "taken out some valuable targets."

 

[nwmalik]

RQ-7 Shadow 200 Tactical UAV

specifications of shadow

 

[IceCold]

Isn't that a big question for Obama Administration....

I highly doubt that is going to stop, since a solution to this has to be found, and problem to the whole solution really lies in Pakistan, atleast that's what Americans think!!!

My question is, are they really wrong....

especially hereing this:

Nice twist of words but then again how is it related to my query which is strictly related to why shadow drones, why now specially when we have better platforms to do the job?

By the way since you were kind enough to quote my post and present it with an Indian flavor, pray tell me how exactly will these out dated drones prove to be the solution to the problem which lies in Pakistan?