The Canadian military plans to buy a fleet of remote-controlled aircraft to patrol the Arctic, an official told CBC News.
Lt.-Col. Wade Williams said the drones, known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, will be equipped with cameras, radar, radios, electronic sensors and possibly even weapons.
They will fly day-long surveillance flights over water, land and ice while being piloted by an air crew stationed on the ground at a control station that could be thousands of kilometres away.
"I think UAVs will go a long way to alleviating the requirement to have constant manned aircraft in the air," said Williams, who is with the military's UAV program.
"They can do a lot of the eyes and ears missions that are being done today with manned aircraft."
The military hopes to acquire the new aircraft within five years.
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Lt.-Col. Wade Williams said the drones, known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, will be equipped with cameras, radar, radios, electronic sensors and possibly even weapons.
They will fly day-long surveillance flights over water, land and ice while being piloted by an air crew stationed on the ground at a control station that could be thousands of kilometres away.
"I think UAVs will go a long way to alleviating the requirement to have constant manned aircraft in the air," said Williams, who is with the military's UAV program.
"They can do a lot of the eyes and ears missions that are being done today with manned aircraft."
The military hopes to acquire the new aircraft within five years.
Full story
More...