Colorado Drone Mystery

[Ultima Thule]

Why would USAF conduct operations of a highly classified program in a populated area, thus calling attention to it?

Not sure. Can only speculate that it may have something to do with the unique characteristics of the terrain. I'm not even sure it is the AF. But if it was, or any other DoD org, and a classified program, I wouldn't trust what any of their spokespeople say.

I'm beginning to think why they are being flown in that area is a bigger question than who is operating them.

Yes, does the pattern tell you anything. If I recall, one sheriff described it as moving across a grid where the drones would fly across, then down a ways and back across the way they came, and then repeat. Not sure what that would lend itself to except maybe precision terrain plotting.

 

[Ultima Thule]

Here comes the "nothing to see here...move along" explanation...

Too much attention. The flights are quietly stopped. Oh, there was nothing there!

 

[Duke]

Not sure. Can only speculate that it may have something to do with the unique characteristics of the terrain. I'm not even sure it is the AF. But if it was, or any other DoD org, and a classified program, I wouldn't trust what any of their spokespeople say.


Yes, does the pattern tell you anything. If I recall, one sheriff described it as moving across a grid where the drones would fly across, then down a ways and back across the way they came, and then repeat. Not sure what that would lend itself to except maybe precision terrain plotting.

Yeah, you can't trust those DoD guys.

Could also be a search pattern, hard to say without seeing a factual representation of the formation and maneuvers involved.

 

[crux]

Pardon my cynicism but this story smells. If there were "mystery drones" flying in an area then any number of government agencies could locate the transmitters in very short order. Claiming it is all a big mystery and they just don't know who is flying them is a very tall tale and high comedy. Of course they can find out who is flying them. They have been able to zero in on radio transmissions since radio was invented. But, in this case they don't have to find out because they already know.

 

[Duke]

Pardon my cynicism but this story smells. If there were "mystery drones" flying in an area then any number of government agencies could locate the transmitters in very short order. Claiming it is all a big mystery and they just don't know who is flying them is a very tall tale and high comedy. Of course they can find out who is flying them. They have been able to zero in on radio transmissions since radio was invented. But, in this case they don't have to find out because they already know.

I agree with you, someone knows. Who do you think the "they" is who already knows?

 

[crux]

I agree with you, someone knows. Who do you think the "they" is who already knows?

This is what they call a psyop. A psychological operation. A sort of "publicity stunt," you might say, designed to have a particular effect on the public. Who does psyops? Why, Intelligence agencies do them. It's a standard means of public control and it is their specialty.The FBI would be my guess here. They do it all the time. I further guess that some legislation is coming soon regrding drone usage and this is how they "soften up" the public, that is, put us in a more amenable frame of mind so we don't squawk too much when new laws that whittle away at our freedoms are enacted. Just scare the public a little and talk of terrorists, and other dangers etc. and it makes things so much easier. It's also called "social engineering."

 

[Duke]

This is what they call a psyop. A psychological operation. A sort of "publicity stunt," you might say, designed to have a particular effect on the public. Who does psyops? Why, Intelligence agencies do them. It's a standard means of public control and it is their specialty.The FBI would be my guess here. They do it all the time. I further guess that some legislation is coming soon regrding drone usage and this is how they "soften up" the public, that is, put us in a more amenable frame of mind so we don't squawk too much when new laws that whittle away at our freedoms are enacted. Just scare the public a little and talk of terrorists, and other dangers etc. and it makes things so much easier. It's also called "social engineering."

Interesting theory. My money is still on a federal law enforcement agency, outside the FBI, involved in some rice bowl type, sensitive investigation specific to the area. Jurisdictional battles between federal law enforcement agencies, with all them weary of the FBI getting in their knickers, can get pretty intense.

The most intriguing explanation I've heard is from a longtime friend who made a fortune in the .com boom before the bubble burst. He theorizes this is a rich man's game of geocaching (or Pokemon Go) played with high tech/dollar drones. Hearing some of the excesses his more-money-than-God, idle rich friends have engaged in, the idea isn't all that crazy.

 

[Ultima Thule]

This is what they call a psyop. A psychological operation. A sort of "publicity stunt," you might say, designed to have a particular effect on the public. Who does psyops? Why, Intelligence agencies do them. It's a standard means of public control and it is their specialty.The FBI would be my guess here. They do it all the time. I further guess that some legislation is coming soon regrding drone usage and this is how they "soften up" the public, that is, put us in a more amenable frame of mind so we don't squawk too much when new laws that whittle away at our freedoms are enacted. Just scare the public a little and talk of terrorists, and other dangers etc. and it makes things so much easier. It's also called "social engineering."

We know from our own history and the world at large that what governments can do they will. On that basis alone, your theory can't be ruled out. Although, in this case, I don't think that the public needs to be conditioned to accept such legislation with regard to drones. Given the obvious threat that these drones can pose to the public safety in the hands of rogue actors, I would not consider such legislation a control mechanism designed to abridge our constitutional freedoms. Very few private individuals, expect maybe those cited by Duke, have the resources to engage in the kind of drone activity that has been going on. So what have we really lost?

On the other hand, I have also considered a similar theory, but in more passive terms. Rather than all of this being set up as some form of deliberate 'false flag' operation designed to manipulate public sentiment in a particular direction; it is instead designed to cause a noticeable effect on a public scale. The subsequent public reaction and "official" response - i.e. the response of authorities not informed of the experiment - to this effect is then observed and the data gathered. The intent of such an experiment would be to be better prepared on how to deal with such situations in the event that they were to actually occur. Being my own worst skeptic, I have doubts, though, that this is even the case here. The behavior of the drones is a little bit too prosaic. And the people in such sparsely populated areas along with their county sheriffs just don't form a good representative sample of the public at large. So I don't think this theory carries much weight. But on the same basis that I cannot rule out your theory I still have to entertain my own, but on the back burner.

 

[Ultima Thule]

The most intriguing explanation I've heard is from a longtime friend who made a fortune in the .com boom before the bubble burst. He theorizes this is a rich man's game of geocaching (or Pokemon Go) played with high tech/dollar drones. Hearing some of the excesses his more-money-than-God, idle rich friends have engaged in, the idea isn't all that crazy.

If I had "more money than God", I wouldn't be flying drones in boring grid patterns. I'd be having drone dogfights!

 

[crux]

In any case, we know that government and/or law enforcement agencies could easily zero in on who is doing this so somebody is pulling the public's leg. I have my guesses on who and why. Feel free to have your own.