Predator Drone Flying over WA state?

I'm not sure where to put this or where to even begin...I feel like my eyes deceived me or I am going crazy.

I live in the Puget Sound area...we have Fort Lewis Army Base, McChord Air Force Base and Bangor Naval Base in close proximity of the area. We also have a few small airports, as well as SeaTac airport, which is the main one here near Seattle.

I have seen the jets and the C130's flying, I've seen the Boeing 757's, etc...but NEVER have I seen a drone in the air until now.

I have no doubt in my mind that it was a drone. The shape of the aircraft was too slim to be a passenger plane. There were no windows and the wings were thin. On the tail, instead of having a "fin" that pointed upward into the air, it pointed downward...and there was a black cylinder under one of the wings. Looked like a camera maybe. Landing gear (wheels) were already out and it was flying at an average speed...not fast, not slow.

I was on the way to work and couldn't get a good picture from my phone so I have no pictures.

This was on WA highway 167 heading toward Renton. Aircraft was on the left side, above a field heading in the same direction I was travelling. Anybody from the area see it?

Are you sure it couldn't have been a glider plane?
If it WAS a drone, maybe it was just a test run for some reason.

Definately not a glider plane. For one, the fin on the tail was pointed downwards, not upwards. There were no windows and it had actual landing gear with legs

dude....boeing is right there
that'explains it

INSITU is in White Salmon (also recently bought by Boeing) and is in the business of drones, among other things. Go to the website, is that what you saw?

Lol. People thinking they (see) a drone. The space/air is full of different things. People need pictures.

It's not like the Insitu ones, similar though. Looked like this except no markings on it and the fins on the tail were a bit different.

The drones are flying out of McCord AFB and they are called "Predator" which are made by General Atomics. Don't worry, they are only of the survelliance variety but they came be armed with missles.

Well, in all honesty, there are any number of options on what it could have been, or what it was doing there, here's a few suggestions as to what it may have been, and why.

1 - It was, in fact, a predator drone. Honestly, don't be worried about it, being so near to the AFB, they have to fly the things sometime to make sure they're still fully working and operational, that being said, typically, you wouldn't see them. The predator in it's glory is designed to fly at extremely high altitude and primarily used as an observation device. Nothing really harmful here.

2 - With the increasing number(and popularity) of the UAV predator style drones what with the media and movies and the like, there are a various number of Civilian market UAV clones that are large in size, I'm unsure as to the 'landing gear' however they also are equipped with a small camera, much like an Actual UAV, I'm not entirely sure how close you were to the military outposts at this time, but they're strictly forbidden anywhere NEAR military airspace, but it's a potential option.

3 - Third, and I suppose the most 'conspiracy' like, would be that having lived in Washington state, there is a fair deal of suspicious 'government' activity in the area, what with white SUV's and no license plates and tinted windows and the like. It's possible that it was either one of these 'organizations' UAVs, or it may have been one of the many testing aerial UAV's meant to be put into production by the U.S. Airforce in the near future. Limited, but not to exclude, UAV Bomber, UAV Fighter plane, UAV Recon plane. Though the way you're describing it, it sounds like a UAV, as it's too big to be a Raven.

Source - Active U.S. Army Recon Scout / Constant interaction with aerial surveillance assets.

US Customs and Border Patrol have some too and that's a high risk drug smuggling region, so that's another possible explanation.

DARPA is working on smaller drones that you wont be able to see..
like hummingbirds, with a swarm consciousness. weaponized.
or even smaller thermite termites.
look up smart dust.

Flycatch,

The drones are flying out of McCord AFB and they are called "Predator" which are made by General Atomics. Don't worry, they are only of the survelliance variety but they came be armed with missles

Considering that Obama is putting pressure on the FAA to allow drones to be used in CONUS airspace, for surveillance purposes, this is definitely a cause for concern.

Even more troubling is Obama is asserting the right to assassinate American citizens: vodpod.com...


P51Mustang,

Correct, Hewlett Packard just recently got a contract to field a trillion cubic millimeter or smaller sized smart-dust sensors in the next two years



[edit on 17-8-2010 by KJ_Lesnick]

If your near a base it was prob a predator or a similar UAV. They fly them unarmed and with no surveillance software running unless in a training situation that needs the software to be active.(pertains to surveillance only weapons cannot be used unless threat is within area and martial law has been declared)

Don`t worry, they`re just out to get the "bad guys". If you happen to be driving on your way to work and you see a group of people suddenly full of holes and bleedin & fallin on the ground all over eachother for seemingly no reason, do not stop to investigate or attempt to help. What you have just seen is our peacekeepers at work keeping our homeland safe. Any attempt to interfere with national security peacekeeping operations will be met with swift and deadly force. Thank you and have a nice day!


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Related thread:

Predator Drones Over America?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by KJ_Lesnick


What are you talking about? USCBP already use UAVs so clearly the FAA has given permission for them.

USAF units who operate UAV's and predators often assist in local matters such as rescue efforts. Perhaps someone was lost in some forested area miles and miles away, and the craft was returning from searching. Perhaps, like stated before, it was simply a test run.

It could have been a training mission, to get new pilots up to speed. People often see military excersies, or training operations and start assuming the worse. Maybe no one says it out loud, but when you see a convoy of hummers painted up camo driving down the Highway, your first instinct is that SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG. Heck, I even do it.

Something everyone who isnt associated with the military should take into concideration; Military members are just regular people with a job, just like everyone else. We have to train, we have to exercise our procedures (much like fire drills). Sometimes we teach local police forces stuff, so we drive/fly to where ever we need to go.

Its almost NEVER what your first impression is. And thats the point. With a nation with practically open borders, theres alot of people in the world who come over here to spy on our military, to learn out secrets. So of course we try to hide that from them, so naturally we are hiding it from our own civilian populace. Hence all the secrets.

Sorry for jumping off topic - But I would take time and really appreciate getting to see something that awesome. Take it as a great experience to see some of the greatest technology in the world.