The US Department of Defense (DoD) explained its hopes for the upcoming decades in its Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, released to the public last week. At nearly 150 pages, the report outlines a variety of goals for air, land, and sea vehicles - yet the unmanned aerial systems (as drones are called) are featured prominently throughout.
For all the science fiction fears drones have roused amongst the public, the technology that the military relies so heavily on is still in its relative infancy. The unmanned vehicles rely on GPS systems to determine their course and in some cases bombing routes, which explains in part why thousands of civilians across the Middle East have been killed without cause.
Comment: To understand what the Pentagon is referring to, see this article and the videos in that article. That research is also very much alive in the US. Unconventional research in USSR and Russia
Comment: The police force in the US has been heavily militarized so as to be able to quell this resistance that is spoken of.
Texas: Surplus armed forces equipment further militarizes local police