Technology

Spy Drones vs. Oil Spill

By Max Fisher
Saved Stories
This article is from the archive of our partner .

Given that BP's oil spill "crisis center" is a big fake, the oil giant should probably try to find a way to actually monitor the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The military contracting division of Boeing that builds unmanned spy drones has an idea: Buy an unmanned spy drone or two from Boeing! The Wall Street Journal's Nathan Hodge reports:

Insitu, acquired by Boeing in 2008, has forwarded an unsolicited proposal to the oil giant offering the ScanEagle drone to help monitor the progress of cleanup efforts.

The ScanEagle is a catapult-launched drone that has been in service with the U.S. military since 2004; it is also operated by Canadian, Australian and Polish defense forces. It can stay aloft for as long as 20 hours, and it carries a payload of day and night cameras.

So helpful, those military contractors. Boeing's drone division was sure to tell reporters about their offer, which Hodge reports BP has so far declined to respond to. If BP does start using drones, let's hope they don't call it "top kill."

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.