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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:

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.

Original Submission