Capable of carrying eight Hellfire missiles, weapons apparently used to intimidate civilians now.

> Persistent aerial surveillance like this has long been controversial, with civil rights advocates saying it violates the right to privacy and undermines the Constitution. At the same time, the fact that a drone is doing it largely evokes a uniquely upsetting response.

"a drone is doing it". Should be "a drone is being used to do it". Way to use the active voice to distance the ownership, control, and responsibility from the device itself.