Colorado Drone Mystery
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Ultima Thule
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Classification levels further compartmentalized by the need-to-know always makes it a tough nut to crack if any military or intelligence agency is behind it. Sometimes the left hand literally does not know what the right hand is doing because it is designed that way. Today we also have private contractors (aka mercenaries), militia training centers, civilians just having fun and, unfortunately, the specter of terrorist groups.
From the article
"The reality is that an individual or small group with some resources can do this. It doesn't need to be a federal agency, the military, or some defense or aviation contractor."
"Furthermore, drones of this size can carry a relevant payload of deadly explosives instead of surveillance or electronic warfare gear. 17 drones flying at once that can surveil a broad area could be re-roled by a nefarious actor to strike 17 pinpoint fixed targets near-simultaneously, or swarm against a single high value one from multiple directions."
Not to mention chemical or biological agents.
"There is no need to panic, but the mystery behind these aircraft should be solved and whoever is doing it should receive some sort of penalty for executing these types of operations outside of FAA regulations, even if there isn't a dark agenda behind the activity."
Duke --- Any guesses as to who is behind this?
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OP
OP
The sightings are spreading as far out as Nebraska now.
Mystery drones appear over 3 more Colorado counties and Nebraska
Mystery drones appear over 3 more Colorado counties and Nebraska
What I want to know is, would this not be dangerous for other aircraft to have these things flying around up there?
OP
OP
The short answer is yes, but there are a number of variables. First it sounds like they are just a few hundred feet in the air, so unless they are being flown near an airport there probably isn't much danger. They are apparently also very brightly lit, so pilots should be able to see and hopefully avoid them. There is also the question of their size/weight/construction. If these are your basic small hobbyist drones, in all probability they would not do much structual damage, if any, to all but light aircraft. Biggest concern would be direct hit on the windscreen/canopy or ingestion into an engine, the same concerns one would have flying through birds.
Ultima Thule
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It is all a bit unsettling. And at this point I'm ruling out the 'civilians having fun' angle. It is all beginning to seem a bit too resource intensive and that whatever party is behind it has some greater plan.
If I were to hazard a guess, it's some form of black ops training in the use of drone swarm techniques or to perhaps develop counter-measures against them. Interestingly, we are already seeing what are ostensibly these same tactics being used in Syria and other areas in the Middle-East and by what appears to be all sides.
Even more interesting is that the systems which seem to be having the most success in bringing down these drones are the Russian air defense systems. It is being speculated that the "low-tech" Houthis in Yemen used these drone swarm technique in their successful strikes against the Saudi oil fields earlier this year, an embarrassment, of course, to the much vaunted and high-priced Western systems that are supposed to be their first tier of defense. I suppose one could chalk it up to sheer lack of training or carelessness on the part of the Saudis. But nonetheless, these successes cast doubt on the effectiveness of these systems in countering drone swarms.
If I were to hazard a guess, it's some form of black ops training in the use of drone swarm techniques or to perhaps develop counter-measures against them. Interestingly, we are already seeing what are ostensibly these same tactics being used in Syria and other areas in the Middle-East and by what appears to be all sides.
Even more interesting is that the systems which seem to be having the most success in bringing down these drones are the Russian air defense systems. It is being speculated that the "low-tech" Houthis in Yemen used these drone swarm technique in their successful strikes against the Saudi oil fields earlier this year, an embarrassment, of course, to the much vaunted and high-priced Western systems that are supposed to be their first tier of defense. I suppose one could chalk it up to sheer lack of training or carelessness on the part of the Saudis. But nonetheless, these successes cast doubt on the effectiveness of these systems in countering drone swarms.
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OP
OP
I could buy the black ops training explanation except for the fact they are brightly illuminated. Unless the training is for use of drones as a "hey, look over here" type diversion, lighting them up like Christmas trees wouldn't make much sense for military applications.
The best defense against a swarm of relatively low tech drones is probably an ECM (jamming) system similar to what the Brits used at Gatwick and the USMC employed off the gator in the Strait of Hormuz this past summer to take down the Iranian drones. Jamming is only effective if the drones are being remotely piloted and receiving flight control inputs via radio signals, however.
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OP
OP
Compared to military drones, yes, but a six foot drone would not be considered a hobbyist drone. Something that big would probably weight at least thirty pounds, depending how it's tricked out. That would be significantly bigger than the FAA "standard bird," which I think is (or at least was) eight pounds. Striking something that big would probably cause appreciable damage to most aircraft, with degree of damage expected to increase as the relative speed of impact increases.