Drone Controllers

From a friend….

We had a drone pilot as a guest speaker at one of our American Legion Post meetings. It was interesting to hear him talk. He said they get flight pay and hour credits as if they were actually airborne. Drones are also controlled from Arizona. He said they see some "interesting" things on roof tops on warm summer nights with the infrared night vision. Wonder what he meant?

The female drone controller is actually flying the aircraft. Her flight instruments screen is located in the upper left of the lower central large monitor screen. The other screens are views from the drone itself.

The control booths or rooms are made in Garland, Texas by Raytheon .

For non-pilots, these particular controllers are in Nevada and each is flying a drone on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away, in the combat zone in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their left hand is on the throttle controlling the drone's engine. The right hand is flying the plane. All the buttons used to fly the drone are located on the joystick. The controller never removes his or her hand from the throttle.

Kill a Taliban leader then go home for lunch or dinner! Welcome to the new world. Imagine how big the communication pipe has to be to pump all the data necessary to perform these complicated tasks through it on the other side of the world in REAL TIME. It is not a modem you or I will ever get our hands on at Radio Shack !!! This is modern warfare.

Today's headline: Missiles Fired From Nevada Controlled Drone Aircraft Kill Taliban Leader in Afghanistan.

Now watch how it;s done ....