The Federal Aviation Administration is currently evaluating a proposal to fly a surveillance drone over San Diego, according to Voice of San Diego.
The aircraft, built by General Atomics, is the MQ-9B Reaper, known as the Predator. For domestic purposes however, it has been renamed the “SkyGuardian.”
The drone is huge, with a wingspan of 79 feet and a weight of 12,500 pounds.
It’s not yet known who is responsible for the program or who is running it.
General Atomics said San Diego was supportive of the project. But city officials said the city’s drone program was not working on SkyGuardian. VOSD has filed a lawsuit to find out more about the program.
In May an MQ-9 was deployed from Grand Forks Air Force Base to fly surveillance missions over the riots in Minneapolis.
In April, Baltimore City officials also used a small fleet of surveillance craft to fly above the city to monitor crime during the Covid19 lockdown.