Drone bases are speckled all over the United States

For the average American sitting in front of his or her TV tonight watching the constant yada-yada on Fox News or MSNBC, the drone program only exist in some far off land where there is more sand than grass.

However, a new Wired “Danger Room” report shows that there are dozens of such bases possibly right in your own backyard.

Sixty-four drone bases–let me repeat, there are 64 bases that house drones, some that can be armed, right here in the land of the free.

According to the Danger Room report:

Public Intelligence, a non-profit that advocates for free access to information, released a map of military UAV activities in the United States on Tuesday. Assembled from military sources — especially this little-known June 2011 Air Force presentation (.pdf) – it is arguably the most comprehensive map so far of the spread of the Pentagon’s unmanned fleet.

Drones of all types, from the miniature Wasp drones to Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be armed are being housed all across the country.

Naturally, the question that comes to mind is, why are they here?

Quick, conspiratorial answer–Spying on US citizens , or worse.

But Danger Room writer, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai suggest a more benign answer:

Domestic proliferation isn’t the same as domestic spying, however. Most — if not all — of these military bases would make poor surveillance centers. Many of the locations are isolated, far from civilian populations. Almost half of the bases on the map work only with the relatively small Raven and Shadow drones; their limited range and endurance make them imperfect spying tools, at best. It’s safe to assume that most of the bases are just used for military training.

 

Screen shot from DoD Current and Future U.S. Drone Activities Map/Public Intelligence