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Mysterious drone swarms in 3 states prompt FAA, FBI investigation:
Federal agencies and local law enforcement in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska met this week to investigate a mystery that's generated buzz in those states: swarms of drones.
Since mid-December, sheriff's departments in the border area of the three states have been flooded with at least 30 reports of nighttime drone sightings, sometimes groups of a dozen or more machines, and sometimes flying in formation. The FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and US Air Force have been called in and are reportedly investigating the drone swarms. As of now, no one seems to know who owns or has been operating them.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported this week that the Air Force itself might be behind the drones, as part of a secretive counterdrone program designed in part to keep airborne cameras away from missile silos, a number of which are in the area of the sightings. The Gazette said the Air Force had neither confirmed nor denied this.
The Morgan County Sheriff's Office, which hosted a meeting Monday with dozens of law enforcement partners, said the Air Force had denied involvement. The Air Force didn't immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.
Several agencies at the meeting with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, including the FAA, agreed to continue investigating the drone sightings.
"Multiple FAA divisions are working closely with federal, state and local stakeholders to try to determine whether the reported sightings in Colorado and Nebraska are drones and, if so, who is operating them and for what reason," the FAA said in a statement Monday.
The FAA also said it's contacted unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites, drone companies and companies authorized to operate drones in the area, but hasn't been able to determine if any of these are responsible for the drone swarms.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Saturday January 11 2020, @11:49PM (2 children)
The number of drones involved, combined with what seems to be very methodical and co-operative flight plans, implies a considerable amount of organization that would be beyond all but the largest of activist-style groups. This isn't some random thing; it's seems mostly likely to be either some corporation/government entity out to perform a detailed survey of a large rural area, or to perfect automated inter-operation between UAVs. Either way, it's clearly not purely recreational flights, which means that whoever is operating these aircraft should have some kind of official sanction or they'd be in a world of hurt with at least one federal agency if/when they get busted. Sure, the UAV operator and reason for the flights may well be "need to know", but there's no way that all the organizations who have issued denials are completely in the dark about this. It also seems inconceivable that with all the agencies now supposedly investigating the flights have been able to continue without further details coming to light.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 12 2020, @12:19AM
I admit to not being a drone-enthusiast or follower, but my feeling is that you are underestimating consumer level capabilities in the age of easily programmable drones.
What's stopping consumer level synchronised -- or good enough synchronised -- drone flights?
Or automated/quasi-automated video recording/streaming back to some "command centre"? Don't drones support this fairly easily?
If a self appointed border-watch group was determined/financed enough, what's really preventing them from flying 5-10 drones over areas near the border? Do these things even need to file flight plans?
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday January 12 2020, @01:58AM
1) If this is a government mapping thing, then all they have to do is say that. There may be good reasons why the mapping is best done at night so they should include that explanation. Maybe it's a thermal map of some kind and night time provides the best contrast.
2) If it is the government testing drone coordination or whatever, it has hundreds of square miles of military bases on which to perform those tests. Spooking farmers is not even remotely necessary nor is it smart if they are trying to keep it under wraps.