Update June 6, 2020: Video available on Facebook @VoiceofSanDiego at https://www.facebook.com/voiceofsandiego/videos/250850133006597/
As reported by Voice of San Diego:
General Atomics plans to test a new military-grade drone in the skies above San Diego. The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing the proposal, but has failed to release records that would shed light on safety precautions and other key details. The company is now developing a new military-grade drone, known as the SkyGuardian, with plans to market the unmanned aircrafts to police and other emergency responders as well as public planners. But first the company needs to prove that the device is safe to put above a densely populated metro — and it’s chosen San Diego as the prospective test site.
The Federal Aviation Administration is responsible for granting that permission, but it has declined to say more about the process and is dragging its feet on internal records that might show how regulators are thinking about the SkyGuardian in light of past drone crashes. That’s why Voice of San Diego is suing the public agency. More at https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/were-suing-to-learn-more-about-the-drone-test-project-hitting-san-diego-skies/
On Friday, June 5, at 1:30 PM, Jesse Marx is taking over the Voice of San Diego at Home livestream and will be joined by Katy Stegall, a freelance reporter and former VOSD intern. They’ll talk about a major military grade drone project in San Diego and explain why lawsuits are an increasingly common way for journalists to get information out of the federal government. Watch live video on Facebook @VoiceofSanDiego
