Pubdate: Thu, July 15, 1999 Source: Guardian Weekly, The (UK) Copyright: 1999 The Guardian Weekly Contact: 75 Farringdon Road London U.K EC1M 3HQ Fax: 44-171-242-0985 Website: http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/GWeekly/ Author: Jacques Isnard IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT'S BIG BROTHER WATCHING Is Big Brother, the ubiquitous monster who keeps tabs on people's actions and even feelings in George Orwell's novel 1984, already here in the shape of the drone? The drone, which made its mark during the war in Kosovo, is an unmanned, remote-controlled little plane that is able to reconnoitre every detail of the terrain it flies over, identify activity going on there and bring back its observations to those who control it from the ground. Drones were used widely during the air offensive against the Serbs. They were given evocative names such as Woodpecker, Kestrel, Pred ator and Hunter. Depending on the altitude at which they flew and the tasks assigned to them, drones located refugees, complemented information obtained from satellites or by other reconnaissance aircraft - thus helping bombing plans to be drawn up - and facilitated the assessment of damage caused to Serbian forces and civilian infrastructure. Although the drone is vulnerable because it flies at speeds and altitudes that make it a tempting target, it is useful because it acts as the commander-in-chief's eyes, transmitting the information it collects during its flight either live or in recorded form. The drone has set its manufacturers and users thinking. On the basis of military experience acquired during peacekeeping operations by the Americans in Panama and Somalia, and by the French in Bosnia and Kosovo, there is now talk of more controversial uses for it. Organised crime, terrorism, threats to use biological or chemical weapons, and mass actions of all kinds that aim to spread panic among the population can end up turning the inhabitants of "sensitive" inner-city areas, if not whole cities, into hostages. According to army forecasts, 85% of the world's population will live in cities in the next century. To curb the risks of urban guerrilla warfare - "the new battlefield" for which armies in some countries are preparing themselves without admitting as much - the drone will be used in a Big Brother role. Flown by security forces on apparently innocuous missions, it will monitor the activities of extremist groups, ferret out arms and drugs caches, spot snipers, identify no-go areas and follow demonstrators' movements. But that is not all. In the event of serious urban disorders the drone will be able to go one better than Big Brother and prepare the ground for gunships to fly in and restore law and order. July 9 - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D