Blacked Out! Details Of U.S. Drone Plans

Obama administration hiding costs, names of decision-makers from public

WND

STEVE PEACOCK

A planning document uncovered by WND reveals that the Obama administration is hiding certain details from the public – including costs and the names of decision-makers –  regarding “special projects” governing the federal government’s global deployment of U.S. and ally drones.

The document indicates the government is extending support of unidentified Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCOs, for up to 15 additional months.

A break in service also could have affected what was, as of January, the “imminent release” of armed MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drones to new Foreign Military Sales, or FMS, customers, the document says.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command therefore is sticking with an existing contractor to keep alive the program-support segment of the Medium Altitude Unmanned Aircraft Systems Special Projects initiative.

Interrupting these services through competitive bidding also would have jeopardized drone operations already under way by British, French and Italian allies, it says.

Although the Army did not identify specific problems with the drones, it acknowledged that sustained contractor support is critical to resolving issues with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, provided to these allies via the FMS program.

“Any disruption in this support could preclude their participation in operations vital to United States foreign policy objectives,” says a partially redacted Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity document.

All cost data – in addition to the names of military contracting officials and legal counsel who approved the no-bid contract extension – are blacked out.

Dynamics Research Corp., or DRC, will continue to provide “essential functions” that include deficiency reporting, quality/product assurance and flight test engineering under contract award no. W91WAW-08-D-0013.

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Reposted with permission