UNMANNED DRONES

WASHINGTON When it flies overhead at 65,000 feet - or 12 miles high - an unmanned airplane called Global Hawk can spy a milk carton sitting on a picnic table, manufacturer Northrop Grumman Corp. says.

The U.S. Air Force employed this flying drone and a smaller one called Predator effectively over Iraq. Next, the federal government is considering use of the $35 million Global Hawk and other unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, as part of high-tech arsenal to protect the United States.

Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has urged President Bush to "explore the option of using UAVs for the critical homeland defense mission." He suggested uses from patrolling borders to monitoring the shipping of hazardous materials and security for dams, power plants and drinking-water utilities.

Top officials at the new Department of Homeland Security have discussed a demonstration UAV project. The Coast Guard has awarded a contract to Bell Helicopter for three prototype Eagle Eye UAVs, an aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane.

Industry representatives are enthusiastic about the drones' potential.

"I believe we will see Predator and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) watching over major events, such as the Olympic Games and the Super Bowl, in the not-too-distant future," Brad Brown, then-president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International wrote earlier this year.