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: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Saturday January 11 2020, @03:52PM (1 child)
" ... Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska". Isn't this cowboy-country? Nobody shot on them down yet? Very disappointed.
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Sunday January 12 2020, @07:27PM
More to the point, if the government doesn't know who is doing it, why haven't they shot them down yet? You think a country would normally allow unknown aircraft to fly organised patterns across their territory? No, unknown aircraft are forced down if they do not respond. UAVs, having no humans on board, are usually shot down (no risk loss of life).
After all, they could be doing mapping for a foreign power in order to know what targets to hit, or to survey the land prior to invasion. In the minds of the military these drones (if truly unknown in ownership and intent) would keep them jittery until the "threat" was removed. They would not let them keep at it for 2+ months without even an attempt to disable them.
That is why I suspect the government knows exactly who is doing it, why they are doing it, and the government doesn't object. That of course, doesn't mean they won't withhold that knowledge from the public.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Saturday January 11 2020, @04:08PM (9 children)
This has been going on for about a month. It appears that this has been some sort of mapping expedition. The drones have been spotted flying in swarms of 6 - 10 in grid patterns. The local news channels have floated theories that it's the government as they've noted that certain agencies have quit answering their questions. These sweeps have bumped right up against Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs, both fairly large cities. The rest of this area though is fairly rural. Out in that country a white van parked on a dirt road sticks out like a sore thumb.
I find it highly improbable that for over a month no one has been able to track these things till landing. It is hard to believe that the people flying these have not seen the news that every 3 letter agency is looking for them. As the days pass it sounds more and more likely that it is quietly official. For what? We don't know yet for sure!
I for one hope that its our alien overlords returning to earth looking to pinpoint their buried mothership.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday January 11 2020, @04:50PM (1 child)
I passed on subbing this a week or two ago. I'm also surprised it hasn't been figured out yet.
All "UFO" sightings will be portrayed as unidentified drone sightings in the near future.
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(Score: 2) by zocalo on Saturday January 11 2020, @05:55PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 11 2020, @05:38PM
I don't think people understand how hungry our government is for surveillance.
We all seem to kind of forgotten about PRISM but that program is insane. They are spying on just about everybody and coercing every single major tech company to join in their surveillance state. It's the likely same reason there's now a push to also try to do away with real money. When people only use digital money it not only gives the government absolute an absolute level of economic control, but also works as another perfect tracking device on every citizen. Drones are just another logical step in our surveillance state ultimately enabling near 24 hour surveillance on everybody, at scale. Formation practice is 100% necessary since 'at scale' we're talking about what will eventually be millions of drones operating semi-autonomously.
If you're genuinely unsure that they're government drones then take it as an assumption that they are not. What would happen? We live in a nation where "SWATing" is actually a thing - just make a report of somebody and there's a very real chance they end up getting deaded. Such is the restraint and judiciousness of our law enforcement. If there was an unidentified 'swarm' of organized drones with no identification reported, there'd be a late new years fireworks show being put on imminently.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Saturday January 11 2020, @05:48PM (4 children)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday January 11 2020, @10:11PM (3 children)
The problem is, "Can you believe the disavowal?". Even if the spokesman is honest, wouldn't he be kept ignorant? Does he have proper "need to know"?
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(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.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday January 12 2020, @02:16AM
The news loves the mystery... I agree: more than one three letter agency already knows all about them, and they are most likely being run by some government or military concern to have gone on this long without explanation in the news.
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(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Saturday January 11 2020, @09:55PM (1 child)
Put a couple of guys up in light general aviation aircraft and circle until you see where they land, then use that data to dispatch local or state police.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 11 2020, @10:28PM
From tfs ...at least 30 reports of nighttime drone sightings...
Not so easy to see drones at night, even if you are up in a light plane. Do drones get hot enough to show up on an IR camera? That might be one way to locate them after dark.
Also, a larger drone could take down a light plane in a mid-air crash, so there is some risk to this operation.