An earlier version of this report gave the wrong name for the National Guard wing. The corrected version is below.

Inland Empire residents may look up in the coming weeks and catch sight of the same military drones used to target suspected terrorists in such troubled places as Iraq and Pakistan.

These MQ-9 Reapers will not be on the hunt, however. Instead they will be flying training missions as new pilots with the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Attack Wing learn how to operate the aircraft from computer consoles at March Air Reserve Base.

The 163rd has been flying drone missions for years. The wing’s mission is split between surveillance and combat missions in the Middle East and training operations. The drones used for pilot training have been based at the Southern California Logistics Center in Victorville – the former George Air Force Base. Over the next few months, however, the drones will be relocated and will begin flying out of March, making their way to the high desert.

The training space for the Reapers will still be over Edwards Air Force Base. But Col. Dana Hessheimer, commander for the 163rd, said that by relocating the instructors and pilots to March, it will save commuting time, allow for additional training and enable the operation to expand. He hopes to double the size of the training operation – from 40 to 80 personnel – in the next two years.

What he doesn’t want, is for local residents who see the drones to freak out.

“I don’t want it to be a surprise, to see an MQ-9 fly out of March and have a big pile-up on the 215,” Hessheimer said.

He said the National Guard has been working with the FAA and local governments to get airspace clearance and to meet environmental impact requirements for issues such as noise, air quality and public opinion.

“We wanted to make this as transparent as possible,” he said. “It’s been a total joint effort.”

While Reapers are used as offensive weapons in the Middle East, carrying bombs and hellfire missiles, the ones flying locally will not be armed, although they may carry munitions that are not live so that pilots learn how the plane handles when loaded with weapons.

Hessheimer said he hopes to add two or three more Reapers to the six the wing already has. That and locating the planes at March will be a good thing for the base.

“If there is such a thing as BRAC-proofing,” he said, referring to future action by Congress that might pare back on military bases, “having (the Reapers) here, makes us look better.”

In a statement, base commander Brig. Gen. Russell Muncy said the addition of the Reapers is an important addition to the scope of March’s operations.

He said the addition would help the base “stay relevant, mission-ready, and poised for a successful future.”

Concerns have been raised in recent years about the increasing use of drones for surveillance and their potential use by law enforcement agencies.

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington D.C., said that while he knew of no instances of military drones conducting domestic surveillance, having clear guidelines is critical.

“I would want to see good rules in place to ensure that these aren’t repurposed for surveillance,” Stanley said. “There is a history in this country of the military getting involved in domestic surveillance.

“If that thing flew over my house,” added Stanley, a former Riverside resident, “I would want to know that the military had in place strong policies governing exactly what kind of video surveillance and photography is being carried out. I think a lot of Americans feel that way.”

Hessheimer said strict policies already are in place and that the Reapers are prohibited from any form of domestic surveillance.

“It is illegal for the military to spy on the American public,” he said. “People are kind of scared of the military flying these things. But the news helicopters are violating their rights more than we ever have, because we have restrictions.”

Those restrictions, he said are sometimes more stringent than he would like them to be. During the massive Rim Fire, in and around Yosemite, in 2013, a Predator drone, flown by the 163rd, was used to assist firefighters by determining the perimeter of the fire and finding hot spots. But Hessheimer said more could have been done.

“I can’t just send an MQ-9 out,” he said. “It has to be approved by the Secretary of Defense.”

When the wing responded to the Rim Fire, its Predator had to fly past the Fish Fire burning in the Sequoia National Forest. Hessheimer said it would have been easy for the drone to do a quick 10-minute survey of that fire’s perimeter, but the wing did not have clearance from the Department of Defense to do so.

“We couldn’t even put our sensors on it,” he said.

He sees opportunities for the wing to respond to future fires and perhaps major earthquakes. Contingency plans already have been written for such possibilities, he said, which should expedite the wing’s response time.

What it won’t be doing is competing with the drones Amazon is talking about putting into the air.

“We’re not going to be delivering packages,” Hessheimer said. “I can say that with 100-percent certainty.”

RELATED

Life-saving liftoff for Riverside County Sheriff’s Department

Stray drones continue to obstruct firefighters

Technology poised to lift business operations

Contact the writer: mmuckenfuss@scng.com or 951-368-9595