Written by: Nathaniel Mannor
Over the last year, General Atomics has petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to pilot military-grade drones in civilian airspace here in San Diego. General Atomics wants to fly SkyGuardian over San Diego to show off tech capabilities, survey infrastructure, monitor speeding, impress foreign diplomats, and other forms of surveillance, but city officials halted their efforts. This aligns with the company’s three pillars of airspace access: airworthiness, pilot qualifications, and operational approval.
However, the company seems to forget one crucial factor: public perception. The public is skeptical and scared of commercial drones since the War on Terror used the SkyGuardian as part of the counterinsurgency initiative. In addition, there are drone crash reports, such as in 2014 when Customs and Border Patrol shot down a defective drone just outside San Diego and on a Syracuse, NY, runway.
General Atomics knows that without public support, their operation will never come to fruition. In a statement from C. Mark Brinkley, spokesperson for General Atomics, he stated that: “The [Federal Aviation Administration] has a detailed process for the manufacturer or operator of any experimental aircraft (manned or unmanned) to fly over densely populated areas, so we would expect them to apply the same rigorous safety standards to us as they would to any aircraft.”
But the real danger comes from drones’ ability to spy on people. If there’s one thing that characterizes Americans, it’s our love of civil liberties and the fear that the government will infringe upon them. And that danger rises when General Atomics “could have pre-coordinated with military authorities for the date of flight” for access to military areas, cutting the FAA out of the equation. San Diegans have to fight against drones in civilian areas, or the government will continue to grow as the individual shrinks.
Image from: Forbes
