...because single-engine aircraft (manned or otherwise) are banned over the capital. Would require changes to CAA regs. It's why you can't take a Cessna 172 into City Airport and you never, ever see single engine light aircraft over London despite the number of small airfields circling the M25.

There's no way I'd want anything as dangerous as an unmanned, four tonne radio controlled toy with a rotten safety record buzzing around over my home. If this starts to look likely I hope that East End residents (as I belive Lewis is) will write to their MPs. I will.

What's wrong with just putting some actual policemen on the streets and backing them up with a helicopter?

I suppose they can help police the specical olymic lanes, stray into the way of a buerocrats' S0-class and get a few hellfires as well as 3 points and a fine.

...it will be rolled out to the rest of the UK on a permanent basis.

Yes, I've always wondered about that. You can't fly a single engined fixed wing aircraft (which can glide and select a relatively uncluttered spot to crash on in case of engine failure) over an area because of the risk, but a single rotor Helicopter (which is restricted to some very minor variations on "down quickly" if something goes wrong) is permitted.

It's lunacy.

In fact, most drones (the Reaper included) are designed to operate their surveillance systems from high altitude where they can't be seen from the ground. That coupled with the high aspect-ratio wing (giving good glide angle characteristics) means that it should be much easier to put a failed drone down in a field somewhere a considerable distance away rather than on, say, a large stadium full of people.

Finally, if something were to drop on my house, I'd rather it were a Reaper than a Whirlybird in its death throes. The lack of rapidly moving blades in this scenario is a bit of an advantage.

We have more cameras in London that anywhere else in the world, and now they want UAVs? What the Hell for? Is a UAV going to spot a terrorist with a backpack? No. Is it going to spot a car or truck bomb? No. Is it going to give Big Brother a new toy to play with? Oh yes.

Even though this is obvious RFTM material, there are so many other juicy parts here:

"The machines are fitted with a multi-spectral telescopic imaging system, able to detect a human's body heat and see in the dark."

I feel a bit sorry for people that need to make air drones to detect body heat from other humans. Lets hope they at least have a healthy stack of Paris Hilton pictures.

"It's thought that the MQ-9s will operate within an air exclusion zone in order to help prevent collisions with other aircraft. The drones are handled remotely by fully-qualified pilots..."

These so called fully-qualified pilots need an exclusive air zone to avoid colliding with other planes? Then I don't trust the pilots or the drones, I'll leave it to the RAF to tell me which one. What is a "full-qualified" pilot anyway? Qualified is something you either are or you are not. Is this the Register language, or is it military talk? "Fully-dead personnel will get one week leave to inform their next of kin if they fill in and file form XR-3314."

"The RAF doesn't arm its own MQ-9s at present, but may do so in future."

The future as in summer 2012?

Bearing in mind I'm fully expecting cloud ceilings at about 20ft and permanent rain - we'd better get used to ducking as these things whizz around.

..what about the commercial aircraft in the same airspace? I'm sure the air traffic controllers will be delighted, assuming they will have communication with the RAF...

announce their presence over 4 years in advance of the event to give any would be terrorists / mischief - makers plenty of time to work on a hack which could grant them control of the airborne immolators.

"You can't fly a single engined fixed wing aircraft (which can glide and select a relatively uncluttered spot to crash on in case of engine failure) over an area because of the risk, but a single rotor Helicopter (which is restricted to some very minor variations on "down quickly" if something goes wrong) is permitted"

Just because helicopters have one rotor, doesn't mean they all have one engine. Don't know regulations in the UK, but in NL you need to have two engines to go over built-areas.

A quick seach on CAA and requirements found me this:

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=1346

By the way, in case of an engine failure helicopters can still autorotate:

http://www.helis.com/howflies/autorotation.php

surveilance can you do from 50000ft when there is 10/10th cloud cover from 3000ft over London (typical UK summer)?

And if they come down to have a look. Reaper pilot "What is this I see before me? Tis a Jumbo, and another one, and another one, and a.....Whoops.

Very toxic