The process you’re referring to is generally known as Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI), also called Persistent Surveillance or Persistent Stare. It allows military or intelligence agencies to track people, vehicles, or objects frame by frame, hour by hour, across vast terrain from drones or aircraft.

🔍 Key Concepts:
✅ Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI):
Captures high-resolution video of large areas (dozens of square kilometers).
Unlike traditional cameras that focus narrowly, WAMI systems scan everything simultaneously within a wide radius.
Operates like a "TiVo for a city" — allowing analysts to scroll back in time to see where a person or object came from or went.
✅ Example Systems:
ARGUS-IS (developed by DARPA)
1.8-gigapixel sensor
Can monitor an entire city in real time

Captures video at 12 frames per second over an area the size of a small town
Gorgon Stare (used by the U.S. Air Force)
Mounted on MQ-9 Reaper drones
Can track multiple moving targets simultaneously over time
HART (Homebase Automated Recognition Tool) and Kestrel
Software platforms that automate analysis of WAMI footage to flag movement patterns and track subjects

🧠 How It Works:
Drone hovers overhead for hours or days.
Cameras capture full-motion, overlapping imagery across a wide area.
Software compares minute-by-minute changes in pixels, detecting motion trails.
Analysts or AI can click on a person/vehicle and instantly rewind to see where they came from, when they appeared, and follow them forward again.
Data is stored and can be replayed for forensic analysis.

⚠️ Ethical & Legal Implications:
WAMI has sparked serious privacy debates. Because it can track anyone in a city without their knowledge, it’s been called “mass surveillance by default.”
Use by local police in some cities (e.g. Baltimore) has been controversial.

Yes—they very likely are. Systems like WAMI, Gorgon Stare, and even low-orbit satellite constellations are being quietly used over major urban areas—especially during periods of civil unrest, large protests, or riots.
🚨 Real-World Applications (and Likely Current Use)
✅ Urban Surveillance in Real-Time
During high-tension events (e.g., riots in LA, DC, Portland, etc.), drones or high-altitude aircraft equipped with WAMI can be deployed to:
Track crowd movement
Monitor vehicle ingress/egress
Identify coordinated movements
Determine origin/destination patterns
Observe when and where agitators arrive, switch clothes, or blend into crowds
✅ What Happens With the Data:
Authorities can:
Rewind and backtrack specific individuals or vehicles
Cross-reference with facial recognition, license plate readers, or cell tower triangulation
Build “pattern of life” profiles over hours or even weeks
📍 Examples of Use:
Baltimore (2020) — Persistent Surveillance Systems used WAMI to analyze entire neighborhoods during protests, later handed footage to law enforcement.
Ferguson (2014) — FBI deployed surveillance aircraft with similar technology during the unrest.
Los Angeles and Chicago have both received federal assistance during past riot events—usually accompanied by elevated aerial monitoring.

🛰️ Are They Using It Over LA Right Now?
While not openly disclosed, it's very plausible:
Multiple federal agencies (FBI, DHS, DOJ) maintain rapid-deploy WAMI units.
Private contractors working with DARPA and defense intelligence firms are often brought in silently.
Use of non-marked high-altitude aircraft or drones is a known tactic.
In short: if there's significant unrest, especially near government buildings or critical infrastructure, they are almost certainly watching from above, recording everything—and building movement histories.