American police departments could be replacing their helicopters with enormous military-style drone aircraft by 2025. According to Defense One, the modified versions of military aircraft will be flying at 2000 feet across US cities as they stream high-resolution videos to different police departments. The unmanned drones are set to transform the counter-terrorism and law enforcement units radically.

Similar drones have been deployed overseas by counter-terrorism units in Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan. However, the current federal rules governing the aircraft in the American airspace are strict than those covering US military drones and aircraft overseas; a reason why big drones including the General Atomics Reaper are not currently flying over the country. The Federal Aviation Authority set regulations for manned aircraft, years before drone technology was a possibility in the country. Currently, the FAA is working to update its rules in a bid to open up unmanned flights in the country. Until regulations are set, unmanned flights will remain restricted.

According to the California-based firm, General Atomics, their future depends on how freely unmanned aircraft can fly over civilian areas in the American and European airspace. As of now, the military has special permission to fly their drones in specific areas, which include the U.S Mexico border. The General Atomics’ Aircraft Systems Division also pointed out that they needed more legacy flight releases to continue building out to more advanced drones of the future. The Company is now pushing for a free flight certification from the FAA by 2025.

Leaving the Nest

On August 19, General Atomics staged a historical demonstration after flying their MQ-9B drone from Yuma, Arizona to their Grey Butte private airstrip, North of Los Angeles. The flight which partly took place in the civil airspace was part of their head start to acquiring the FAA certification. The company is also working to build drones that meet the FAA requirements, which will ensure the drone maker receives the stamp of approval. Upon receiving clearance, the US military and police departments will be using these large, enduring drones to fly in both the national space and international waters without border restrictions. The drones will be a real game-changer in their missions – through improved surveillance and faster response capabilities.

Police Drones – A Threat to Privacy.

Onto the contrary, military drones present a big problem when it comes to privacy. A surveillance drone can identify any human being at a distance of five kilometers, which depicts unlimited potential for privacy abuse. Through their satellite links, Reaper drones will help police collect a wide range of information; a step deemed to improve intelligence in all units.

It will be the role of police departments to decide what kind of sensors the drones will carry, and what happens to the information obtained. However, we see the likeliness of more arrests when the military and police departments are given the green light to fly over the entire national space. As this happens, we might start hearing someone in Florida, or any other state was spotted growing marijuana in a highly shaded greenhouse. With the possibility of equipping future military aircraft with facial recognition technologies, drone surveillance will be a real threat to our privacy.