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FAA threatens $25,000 fine for weaponizing drones
It's perfectly natural for a red-blooded American to, once they have procured their first real drone, experiment with attaching a flame thrower to it. But it turns out that this harmless hobby is frowned upon by the biggest buzzkills in the world... the feds.
Yes, the FAA has gone and published a notice that drones and weapons are "A Dangerous Mix." Well, that's arguable. But they're the authority here, so we have to hear them out.
"Perhaps you've seen online photos and videos of drones with attached guns, bombs, fireworks, flamethrowers, and other dangerous items. Do not consider attaching any items such as these to a drone because operating a drone with such an item may result in significant harm to a person and to your bank account."
Also at The Verge and PetaPixel.
Previously: Department of Homeland Security Terror Bulletin Warns of "Weaponized Drones"
Related: FAA Restricts Drone Operations Over 10 U.S. Landmarks
FAA Approves Blood Toting Drones at North Carolina Hospital
Commercial Drones Are Way More Popular Than the FAA Expected
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Warns Against Using Chinese Drones
(Score: 5, Informative) by driverless on Sunday August 25 2019, @09:34AM (11 children)
... unless you're the US government, in which case load them up with as many bombs and missiles as you like and use them to devastate homes, schools, wedding parties, family gatherings...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @10:24AM (4 children)
So, you are also advocating for warlords, ISIL, Taliban and the rest?? There are obvious reasons why you don't want your neighbor controlling his home made drone with a fucking shotgun attached to it. It's common fucking sense without going to "whataboutism" about US government having different laws when it comes to it's never-ending wars. If you want to protest policies of US Army/CIA, then do so. But that's completely unrelated to this shit.
Seriously dude.... think before writing stupid fucking things.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:21PM (2 children)
nobody's talking about people in other countries. we're talking about american citizens. also, the argument could be made that since the US gov military has weaponized drones then the 2a protects the right of the citizens to have weaponized drones. read the Federalist Papers if you are brainwashed about the 2a and don't understand wtf it's really for. The people are not under the gov. the gov is under the people, even if the people have not been fulfilling their duty the last 90 yrs or so..
(Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Monday August 26 2019, @04:18AM (1 child)
Flying a drone is not equivalent to bearing an arm. To bear means to carry. Learn to read.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @05:32AM
How about a tow cable attached to a drone to fly you around while you carry a bazooka (the anti-tank weapon)?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @03:21PM
Maybe the not stupid fucking thing to write is that it's OK that the United States can issue an execution order on foreigners and have that remotely delivered by drone like Amazon wants to bring your new undies to you.
No, it is not completely unrelated. At all. If gun control advocates can suggest the possibility that maybe civilians shouldn't have military hardware (and no, not interested in the 'AR and AK aren't military' line here although I acknowledge that valid point), then maybe civilians can advocate that the military should not engage in some (some) behaviors that civilians cannot do. Like drone strikes. Torture. You know.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @12:41PM
Thanks Obama
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @01:00PM (3 children)
Drones are the modern crossbow.
The rich and powerful shitted their pants with the widespread of a weapon of such power and ease to use that enabled unskilled peasants to succesfully commit magnicide. And tried to ban them from East to West as before were the swords.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:45PM
Interesting perspective there. I can definitely see why people with reason to fear their constituents would be afraid of, say, a small drone with a chunk of C4 and a time-delay fuse on it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Sunday August 25 2019, @09:31PM
The rich and powerful invented the crossbow so they can send peasants to kill each other with far greater efficiency; training bowmen is expensive.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday August 26 2019, @12:02AM
Who the hell modded that comment Informative? It is nearly the dumbest thing I have read today, and obviously comes from someone who has never read a history book in their life.
Who the hell do you think spend their spare time practicing with weapons to form the bulk of the armies of the Middle Ages?
It was the peasants you ignoramous, and is the reason why the English (and Welsh) longbowman always defeated crossbowmen.
In fact the rich and powerful were so keen on having well trained bowmen that at various times they made football illegal, as it interfered with archery practise.
Read a book once in a while, fool.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:39PM
So, I worked for a now long and thoroughly defunct drone company which was contracted by the US military to attach a small handgrenade like weapon to their drone for a kamikaze style attack - test - on a pickup truck with two crash test dummies inside. Cut to the chase: total success, truck engine disabled and lethal damage to the test dummies.
The grenade was an electronically triggered device via an RS232 interface which required a complicated multi-stage arming/firing code. The military gave us a practice dummy device to test the interfaces with, and generally took the idea of "accidental boom" pretty seriously, at no time did I feel that anyone on the project might be taken out by friendly fire.
Contrast this with the M-800s and mortar launched sky bombs sold from your local grocery store parking lot on July 3rd (depending on your state laws, of course...) Accidental boom happens quite a bit with those things... permanently damaged my father's eyesight in one eye when he was 11, playing with his 14 year old cousin and M80s.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Sunday August 25 2019, @09:58AM (1 child)
In my 20s I worked with a guy who was a bit unhinged (he blew a hand off making fireworks). We went target shooting in the desert and he brought an RC plane with a 22 pistol attached. He'd fly that thing and strafe our line of cans we were using as targets. Scared the crap out of us when it was coming in our direction.
He also made his Ruger 10/22 fully automatic. Well, sort of. Problem was, once you pulled the trigger the gun kept shooting until it was out of ammo.
Haven't seen him in 40 years, wonder what ever happened to him?
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @11:44AM
Not a handy guy to have around then
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday August 25 2019, @11:28AM (14 children)
I'm not a murderer, but if I was, I would be flying my totally stock drone at full pelt straight in my idiotic neighbor's face when he starts putting the music on full blast on his patio at 2am. I'm fairly sure it would be quite lethal, although it's totally unarmed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @11:47AM
Wouldn't it be easier just to load up the drone with as much petrol as it can carry, light a fuse, and fly it over?
Probably cheaper just to throw it yourself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @12:04PM (4 children)
putting the music on full blast on his patio at 2am
When my neighbour did that, I threatened to kill his pit-bull with my bare hands.
He never did it again.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday August 25 2019, @02:06PM (3 children)
Why would you do that? The dog didn't do nothing...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @02:40PM (2 children)
The penalty for killing a dog is less than for killing a man. Added bonus: one less PB in the world.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:31PM (1 child)
pit bulls are some of the best dogs in the world. the problem is they are driven. it's up to the owner to direct that drive. they don't have any inclination to use that drive in any particular direction. if you take a human with a lot of intelligence/potential and drive and you put them in a cage you will get a dangerous person. same as putting a pit bull or many other dogs on a chain or don't show it that humans are loving. people like you are just ignorant and scared or maybe you're just psychopathic and want to hurt innocent animals.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday August 25 2019, @06:46PM
It's my understanding that the problem with a pit-bull is that when it bites, it doesn't want to let go, just bite down harder. Also they're built to take a lot of abuse. (Bulls are quite feisty when you bite them.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @03:32PM (2 children)
I'm not an arsonist, but if I were and were giving you advice, I'd suggest you flying your drone with a flamethrower attached and douse the idiotic neighbor with flame. As he and soon his house burns, you can switch on your own full blast music and play Disco Inferno by The Trammps. It's that nice little touch of sadistic irony that makes a murder memorable.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:19PM (1 child)
Neighbors making noise at 2am implies Mexicans. And if you are going to weaponize a drone to target Mexicans, a can of Raid or some Hot Shot bug bombs are going to be the payload.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @06:59PM
And what about against you? A drone weaponized with a re-transmission of Nuremburg Trials?
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:09PM (1 child)
What kind of stock drone do you have? I seriously doubt that a quadcopter to the face is as effective as a bullet. I could totally see a drone crash causing a fatality, but not at the same rate as bullet crashes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @10:22PM
A stock done can cut a man's head in half. Granted it needs to be a relatively large one, but it has happened.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday August 25 2019, @05:42PM
Even the big 6 rotor drones we flew with heavy gimbal-camera payloads were far from lethal - they could give you a nasty flesh wound (as a couple of operators can attest by experience), but with any kind of medical attention you could pretty much walk it off afterwards, no matter how hard they hit you.
Now, the University was trying to build a flying guillotine - 4 rotors each about 1m in diameter - that thing was death on an X-frame.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by qzm on Monday August 26 2019, @12:38AM
Or you could just throw a brick at him, it would probably do more damage AND be more accurate....
just sayin...
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday August 26 2019, @03:26PM
Which was the result of your neighbor drinking his beer often and not drinking Dos Equis?
Stay homicidal, my friend.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @12:07PM
"Introducing Teh looooong range hand granade "Longbow" version 0.9.
now with more UMMmmpf and upgradeable with camera and even friend or foe A.I. for home-in tracking.
made in USA 100%"
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @12:56PM (1 child)
How am I ever going to get that stupid roadrunner? - Wile E. Coyote
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @01:02PM
Trump promised less regulation on business, not more. I need to sell gadgets to my demanding customers! - Acme Corporation
(Score: 4, Interesting) by legont on Sunday August 25 2019, @06:05PM (3 children)
Aircraft - so called drones or not - were available to Americans for as long as aircraft existed. Yet, American pilots mostly resisted a very simple idea of making a flying war machines.
What changed now? If became too simple to fly so morons are flying now. It is actually sad because, for example, there is nothing wrong for a pilot to throw a water bomb off her aircraft as long as it does not kill a nearby cow. Pilots so far could decide the danger for themselves.
It will change and another smart group will be degraded to imbeciles (similar to software coders, that is).
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 25 2019, @11:18PM
WTF sort of SJW nonsense are you rambling on about, snowflake?
(Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Monday August 26 2019, @04:33AM (1 child)
But it is the wealthy countries that have given humanity the most science and math, which is longest-lived kind of understanding. And the wealthiest people in wealthy countries are strong supporters of those fields.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 27 2019, @06:18AM
I doubt it. When I look from my window, I see that the youth of the wealthiests country can't even cross the street without grandma's guidence. Math? Forgetaboutit.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.