Photos: Umanned drones in Southland
The unmanned aircraft industry is centered in Southern California, a testament to the region’s rich aerospace history. Above, a Predator drone passes the San Gabriel Mountains on a training flight by the California National Guard. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Pilot Mark Bernhardt watches a Predator from his chase plane above Victorville. The drone’s chase plane is used only when it’s over civilian areas. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
A California National Guard ground crew pushes a Predator out of its hangar at George Air Force Base in Victorville. The robotic plane is built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in Poway. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
The fast-growing drone business is fueled by Pentagon spending -- at least $20 billion since 2001 -- and billions more chipped in by the CIA and Congress. Above, a Predator gets ready for takeoff from George Air Force Base in Victorville. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
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From their seats at March Air Force Base in Riverside County, Air Force Lt. Col. Joe Brooks, left, pilots a Predator flying over Ft. Irwin, northeast of Barstow, while a master sergeant lines up targets for a missile attack. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems technicians install the electronics in the fuselage of a Predator B airplane. General Atomics and Northrop Grumman Corp. reign as the two biggest drone builders. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Critics of drones say they have struggled on the battlefield with system failures, computer glitches and human error. Above, technicians work near the rear engine of a Predator B airplane. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Workers push the fuselage of a Predator A to the next assembly bay at the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ 1.9-million-square-foot facility in Poway. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
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The growing demand for drones has dozens of defense contractors -- Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. among them -- vying to get in on the action. Above, a technician runs a series of tests from the pilot’s seat of a Predator command module. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Workers at a Northrop Grumman plant in Palmdale work on a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The massive hangar in Palmdale where 45 technicians assemble Global Hawks, which can cruise at 65,000 feet, once bustled with thousands of workers building B-2 stealth bombers. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Southern California’s drone industry employs an estimated 10,000 people. Above, a technician works on the wing of a Global Hawk at Northrop’s plant in Palmdale. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
