Photos: Drones to patrol LA airspace?

This little airplane is no toy--it may, in fact, soon be deputized. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is evaluating the SkySeer drone with an eye to using a squadron of them for surveillance and rescue operations; that would make it one of the very first law enforcement agencies to dispatch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Pictured here at a demonstration flight Friday in Redlands, Calif., are LASD deputy Troy Sella (left) and SkySeer inventor Sam de la Torre. The aircraft has a wingspan of 6.5 feet and weighs just over 3 pounds.

De la Torre shows off the SkySeer's panning camera (between his hands), which transmits video images in real time. An AFP story pointed out the cost advantage the SkySeer has over a helicopter--a price between $25,000 and $30,000 apiece, compared with $3 million to $5 million per copter (the LASD has 18 of the latter). "It's basically a high-tech kite that field officers could set up in a matter of minutes," said Sid Heal, head of the LASD's Technology Exploration Project.

UAVs have become a staple of military operations in recent years--one was used in the operation that killed al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi earlier this month--and police agencies now envision using them over U.S. cities and borders. For more photos of UAVs, click here.