...I think people will wonder why there is no video that we know of these sightings. Most amateur video shot of lights in the sky at night has very little value, but regardless, you have to remember that this is happening in very sparsely populated areas after dark. If it was occurring near an urban area, I think the lack of video would be a bit troubling, but in this case, I don't find it to be, especially considering the level of law enforcement knowledge of these events.
People seeing lights in the sky that they don't understand the origin of happens often, but this case seems far more consistent over a short timespan than something that could be easily blown off. Once again, the fact that law enforcement is well aware of it and discussing it as fact is also telling. This all begs the question, what is going on in this remote section of Colorado?
Based strictly on the descriptions conveyed, it sounds like someone or some group is testing a broad-area surveillance capability with lower-end autonomous drones. This could include something as simple as having a group fly a series of planned routes and return with the information gathered via autopilot. By doing so, a group of small, relatively inexpensive drones can cover a large area quickly instead of single, far more expensive assets that could take more time and offer less redundancy. Such a capability could be used for search and rescue, mapping, and general intelligence gathering. This also doesn't require man-in-the-loop control that would necessitate line-of-sight connectivity. Still, it is really flat terrain with endless farmland in the area where the sightings occurred, which means line-of-sight connectivity could be maximized, especially with the help of a large aerial or small tower, but the grid pattern nature of these flights that the Sheriff describes point to a coordinated and automated flight plan for the drones.
The airspace where this is occurring is peculiarly desolate, as well, making it ideally suited for such a task, but the flights are not legally occurring, which makes the whole affair quite suspicious. The fact that the activity is happening after sundown is even more intriguing and adds to the notion that whoever is doing this knows it is outside the bounds of FAA regulations.
In addition, it would be very challenging to trace these aircraft back to their place of origin or point of flight termination. The drones could fly the majority of their missions with lights on and turn them off during launch and recovery. With very little ambient light, they would be all but undetectable to the naked eye. Also, remember that drones this size can takeoff from very small areas, so it's not like a runway is needed or anything like that. As such, they can originate from nearly anywhere.
The reality is that an individual or small group with some resources can do this. It doesn't need to be a federal agency, the military, or some defense or aviation contractor. Although it all sounds relatively innocuous, it is possibly yet another sign of the potential threats small, commercially available unmanned aircraft pose. If the grid pattern reports are accurate and autonomous waypoint navigation is being used by these drones, it can be posited that similar basic concepts of operation were used in the game-changing attack on Saudi oil facilities in September. Furthermore, drones of this size can carry a relevant payload of deadly explosives instead of surveillance or electronic warfare gear. 17 drones flying at once that can surveil a broad area could be re-roled by a nefarious actor to strike 17 pinpoint fixed targets near-simultaneously, or swarm against a single high value one from multiple directions.
This is the same drum I have been beating for years, and eventually, this threat will materialize in the continental United States as it has overseas. With that in mind, this type of event—which we will only see more of in the future—shouldn't be treated as just some interesting curiosity. There is no need to panic, but the mystery behind these aircraft should be solved and whoever is doing it should receive some sort of penalty for executing these types of operations outside of FAA regulations, even if there isn't a dark agenda behind the activity.
Lincoln County rancher spots squadron of drones flying in grid pattern at night near Genoa
LINCOLN COUNTY, Colo. -- Another squadron of drones has been sighted in the night skies over northeastern Colorado, this time in Lincoln County. Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Nestor said he received a report from a rancher who spotted five to 10 drones flying 200 feet in the air in a grid pattern around 9:30 p.m. Thursday. That rancher lives adjacent to a wind energy farm which stretches for miles. The Federal Aviation Administration limits drones to daytime operations — from one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset. When asked if the FAA has detected any drones in the area, and whether anyone has applied for a waiver to fly at night, FAA public affairs representative Rick Breitenfeldt said, "I checked. No FAA drone reports in Colorado matching this location or description." Area residents are now wondering why anyone would be flying at night unless they didn't want to be detected. "The biggest problem I have is we’re a rural county and people get very concerned when large aircraft are flying over their property," Nestor said. Drone squadrons have also been reported recently in Washington, Phillips and Yuma Counties. Some residents wonder if the drones are being used to scope out an area for more wind energy farms. Joseph Vencel, who works in the Peetz (Logan County) area, speculated that the drones may have infrared devices onboard. "In my business, we do solar farms, and they use infrared to see how hot the panels are getting," he said. "Maybe they're looking for illegal grows, and are checking to see which buildings are getting hot and which ones are not." "It is kind of scary because out where I live, there are many people who have private planes," he said. "You never know when one is going to take off, and if they’re big drones, that could be a danger."...MORE
Testing begins on urban attack drones equipped with rocket launchers
A Chinese company is currently testing tiny urban attack drones that can see and shoot in the dark
Urban attack drones equipped with rocket launchers and night vision are currently being tested in none other than China.According to Mashable, a Chinese company that is a subsidiary of a state-owned aerospace company is currently in the middle of developing a tiny attack drone designed for urban locations. This drone has been titled "Tianyi" and is a quad-copter that is primarily designed for unnamed reconnaissance missions. The drone also has the capability of doing close-range strikes against people and armored vehicles. Equipped with infrared lasers for nighttime operations, and armed with 50mm rockets that can be fired from 1km away, manufacturers are hoping they can mass produce "Tianyi" and sell it to Western countries. LINK
The Pentagon Wants AI-Driven Drone Swarms for Search and Rescue Ops
The Defense Department’s central artificial intelligence development effort wants to build an artificial intelligence-powered drone swarm capable of independently identifying and tracking targets, and maybe even saving lives. The Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, or JAIC, issued a request for information to find out if AI developers and drone swarm builders can come together to support search and rescue missions. Search and rescue operations are covered under one of the four core JAIC research areas: humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The program also works on AI solutions for predictive maintenance, cyberspace operations and robotic process automation. The goal for the RFI is to discover whether industry can deliver a full-stack search and rescue drone swarm that can self-pilot, detect humans and other targets and stream data and video back to a central location. The potential solicitation would also look for companies or teams that can provide algorithms, machine training processes and data to supplement that provided by the government. The ideal result would be a contract with several vendors “that together could provide the capability to fly to a predetermined location/area, find people and manmade objects—through onboard edge processing—and cue analysts to look at detections sent via a datalink to a control station,” according to the RFI. “Sensors shall be able to stream full motion video to an analyst station during the day or night; though, the system will not normally be streaming as the AI will be monitoring the imagery instead of a person.” The system has to have enough edge processing power to enable the AI to fly, detect and monitor without any human intervention, while also being able to stream live video to an operator and allow that human to take control of the drones, if needed...MOREPentagon Is Searching for Domestic Drone Options
The Defense Department expects to focus on domestically created and funded unmanned aerial systems and counter-unmanned aerial systems in 2020 as part of its ongoing efforts to secure its supply chain. “We see this as developing an ecosystem to have investment in areas that the Department of Defense thinks are particularly critical for providing capabilities to the warfighter, but also translate many times into commercial products,” Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said at a Pentagon press briefing on acquisitions priorities Dec. 10. “And I think you know that DJI flooded the market with low-cost quadcopters particularly, which eroded our industrial base and really altered the landscape for the U.S. government and for the small drone industry. What we want to do is reinvigorate that.” Lord repeatedly heard the need for systems that detect small, hobbyist-style drones as she traveled to air bases in Qatar, Iraq and Afghanistan through the course of the year. Though many services and agencies have looked into such tech, the department named the Army as the executive agent for counter-UAS. The department already hosted an event to kickstart U.S. investment into the field dominated by foreign companies. Last month, Defense partnered with Texas A&M University for a Drone Venture Day to showcase national security-related work from 39 U.S. UAS and counter-UAS manufacturers and 12 trusted capital providers. Those capital partners came from what Lord called “clean money”—small businesses that started with U.S.government funds at universities and labs...MOREFAA proposes tracking most drones in US airspace
The country's top transportation regulator on Thursday proposed tracking nearly every drone in U.S. airspace, a rule that would pave the way for companies like Google and Amazon to deploy commercial drones across the U.S. The rule, the culmination of years of work by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will create a system that allows law enforcement and the government to track drones throughout the sky, distinguishing between licensed aircraft vehicles and those that are suspicious or potentially threatening. It is a vital step toward creating an air traffic management system for these devices in the sky, therefore allowing widespread commercial drone delivery with the government's blessing. The FAA is asking all drones to comply with the new rule within three years. The agency is also asking for public comments. The remote identification rule proposed on Thursday has been referred to as a system to create "virtual drone license plates." A drone industry trade group on Thursday raised concerns about the three-year timeline, which pushes off their ability to mainstream drone delivery for another several years. "Our main concern is the implementation period, which is needlessly up to 3 years," said Commercial Drone Alliance Executive Director Lisa Ellman in a statement. "Until remote ID is implemented, the American public will be deprived of many of the vast safety, humanitarian and efficiency benefits of commercial drones." "We need implementation yesterday, not 3 years from now," she said...MORE
A drone was destroyed by ... a F-16 with a guided rocket?
As the militaries of the world struggle to adapt to the threat posed by small cheap drones, sometimes the obvious needs answering. Which is why, when the Air Force announced that a fighter jet had successfully shot down a small drone, it caught the attention of the counter-drone world. Maj. Jeffrey Entine, flying an F-16C with the 85th Flight Test Squadron, shot a rocket at a test drone near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Dec. 19, according to a statement from the service. The stated purpose of the test was to “demonstrate shooting a small drone at low altitudes,” and it appears to have been a success. While “small drone” may call to mind hobbyist quadcopters or the tactical drones used by infantry, the target drone in question was a BQM-167, a kind of drone specifically designed as an aerial target. With a length of 20 feet tip-to-tail and a maximum gross takeoff weight of over 2,000 lbs, the BQM-167 is small only in relation to the jet fighter that shot it down. Confusing target drones for hobbyist quadcopters is full circle for military terminology. For decades, the most popular use of drone in military circles was as a collective term for flying aerial targets. Training human pilots and gunners on simple moving targets is a long-standing practice; before she was Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jeane Dougherty assembled aerial targets for the Radioplane company during World War II. What is novel about the recent shoot-down by Entine is that non-target drones, which date back at least as far as World War I, are now a regular part of military operations and civilian life. Air Force pilots shooting down drones outside of combat is an expected practice. While shooting down plane-sized drones in combat is expected, using a whole anti-air missile on a smaller, cheaper target would be overkill...MOREAlso see:
Drone drops package over Queensland prison wall on Christmas Day
Israel Develops New Laser System to Shoot Down Gaza’s Explosive Balloons, Drones
Eye in the Sky: What to know about OSHA’s use of drones during inspections
Militants Attempt Attack on Syrian Airfield in Hama With Drones – Reports
In violence-hit areas, UP police have eye in the sky — drones
Posters, drones keep fearful locals indoors
Shropshire farmer becomes first person to train sheep to associate drone with food
Drone shepherds who watch their flocks at height
All of the above links are from the last week, most are from the last two days. This one, though, is from October and is of great interest to me:
The Interior Department on Wednesday announced it will ground all drones that were manufactured in China or contain Chinese-made parts, pending a review of the agency’s growing unmanned aircraft program. The decision comes months after agency officials approved purchases of aircraft built by DJI, a Chinese firm that many national security experts see as a potential conduit for government espionage. When authorizing the procurements, the agency took multiple technical precautions to ensure DJI couldn’t access the data collected through the aircraft. The order to ground Chinese drones wouldn’t apply to aircraft the agency is currently using “for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property,” Interior spokesperson Melissa Brown said in a statement to Nextgov. In May, the Homeland Security Department warned companies their data could be at risk if they use Chinese drones, and the Army previously banned soldiers from using any unmanned aircraft manufactured by DJI. Over the past three years, Interior has increasingly turned to unmanned aircraft to survey federal lands, monitor wildlife, respond to natural disasters and conduct other critical operations. The tech offers the agency an inexpensive, efficient way to manage the 500 million acres of land under its purview, and by 2025, officials expect to more than triple their annual drone missions. At the end of 2018, only 13% of the nearly 600 drones in Interior’s fleet were manufactured by DJI. But as the agency looked to significantly scale up its operations in the years ahead...MORE
The Department of Interior has 600 drones? Fox news reports the number as 800. Whether it is 600 or 800, what is Interior doing with that huge number of drones? Is your flock being watched by Interior pilots? We will explore this in another post.
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