Cartographic Abstraction in Contemporary Art by Claire Reddleman

Author:Claire Reddleman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2017-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

18 Published information from USAF available at www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104516/rq-4-global-hawk.aspx accessed 11 Jun 2017. Drones are also developing into smaller forms that have the ability to behave collectively as swarms, suggesting that increasing size will not continue to be the dominant developmental trajectory. See ‘Coming soon: A SOFWERX for drones and robots’ available at www.defensenews.com/articles/coming-soon-a-sofwerx-for-drones-and-robots accessed 11 June 2017. That such information is readily available of course means that it is no longer regarded as sensitive by USAF. The detail they provide is relevant rather for what it can tell us about how military actors shape the discourse about visibility and advanced technological means of visibilisation.

19 DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the advanced research arm of the US Department of Defense. Limited details of the Argus-IR programme available at http://aviationweek.com/defense/darpas-argus-ir-wide-area-sensor-taking-shape, accessed 11 June 2017.

20 See the Sierra Nevada Corporation’s 2014 press release available at www.sncorp.com/press-releases/snc-gorgon-stare/, accessed 11 June 2017, and BAE Systems’ press release available at www.baesystems.com/en/article/bae-systems-wins—49–9-million-contract-to-develop-on-board-processor-and-integrate-darpa-s-argus-ir-nighttime-persistent-surveillance-system, accessed 11 June 2017.

21 See published information from USAF available at www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets, accessed 11 June 2017.

22 Information from BAE Systems ARGUS-IS brochure, ‘AUTONOMOUS REAL-TIME GROUND UBIQUITOUS SURVEILLANCE IMAGING SYSTEM ARGUS-IS’ available at www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/autonomous-realtime-ground-ubiquitous-surveillance-imaging-system-argusis, accessed 11 June 2017.

23 See ‘A160 Hummingbird: Boeing’s Variable-Rotor VTUAV’ by Defense Industry Daily staff, www.defenseindustrydaily.com/a160-hummingbird-boeings-variable-rotor-vtuav-03989/, accessed 11 June 2017.

24 ‘Increment 2 Gorgon Stare imagery system gets operational clearance from USAF’, available at www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsincrement-2-gorgon-stare-imagery-system-gets-operational-clearance-from-usaf-4308198, accessed 11 June 2017.

25 While the clear connection between the naming of these systems and mythical power in general has been noted, there is some ambiguity about the mythical sources in the literature. For example, Medea Benjamin runs together the Argus Panoptes and Gorgon myths: “The Air Force is currently developing a technology named the Gorgon Stare after the many-eyed monster from Greek mythology ‘whose unblinking eyes turned to stone those who beheld them’” (2013, p. 48). I think the naming may be more directed at the idea of an in-person encounter, disavowing again how the fate of being killed by a drone bearing one of these systems depends upon the victim not being ‘in person’ with the drone operator or the drone aircraft.

26 Published information from USAF available at www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets, accessed 11 June 2017. ‘Buddy-lase’ is listed among the ‘missions and tasks’ that the Predator, for example, is able to perform: “Predators can also perform the following missions and tasks: intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, buddy-lase, convoy/raid overwatch, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance.” Predator factsheet also available at www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104469/mq-1b-predator.aspx, accessed 11 June 2017.

27 This 2013 article—Cummings, B. ‘MC-12W now boasts ‘Buddy Lase’ capability’— underscores the capacity of this system to be ‘mounted’ on both manned and unmanned aircraft. Therefore it is not a technological capacity that is exclusive to drones, but it is significant for my argument that it has become particularly associated with drones in popular discourse. This point speaks to the technofetishism connected with drone discourse, discussed in more depth in what follows.

28 Quoted from 5,000 Feet is the Best, excerpted in Harger (2012).

29 Chamayou (2015) provides a detailed discussion of this mode of

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