The Defense Department is planning a new pilot program to arm low-flying unmanned aircraft with precision weapons, a move to emulate strike capabilities of higher-flying Predator UAVs that Pentagon officials believe could point toward an entire class of small, unmanned systems capable of killing targets they locate. U.S. Special Operations Command will launch in fiscal year 2009 a technology demonstration effort to equip Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles with laser-guided munitions, according to Pentagon officials. The goal is to pair firepower...
