About Those Mystery Drone Swarms Over Colorado…

Photo: Im Yeongsik/Getty Images/Istockphoto

The Latest Mystery to Manifest in American Skies: Swarms of Drones that Fly by Night Over the Great Plains. Since the middle of december, Residents with a 200-Mile Swath of Eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska have Reported Coordinated Groups of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that Fly BetWeen Dusk and Midnight. The craft have Wingspans of About Six Feet and at Times Fly in sychronized grid patternsdosens at a time, as if mapping the Landscape Below.

To state the obivious: it is ominous that so many robot plans can operate for so long, over so huge an area, withoout anyone – tan the autorities – able to the figure of operating.

“It ‘Definitely Unusual Activity,” James Brueggeman, The Sheriff of Perkins County, Nebraska, Told the Lincoln Journal-Star. “That’s what we’h we’re investigating and trying to get to bottom of: what is the origin of the flutes or the purpose of the flutes?”

In Response to a Query From New YorkThe Federal Aviation Administration Said Via Email: “Multiple Fa Divisions and Government Agencies Are Investigating these reports.

The fact that so many drones have ben able to operate for so long over over a wide area points to the growing gap the Capabilities of drones and the ability of autorities to track and control say. At Present, The faa has no way to systematically track who doing what, where. In an efort to correct that, the agency recently reletaned a proposal for New Rules That Wauld Require All Drones to Electronically Transmit Their Location and ID. But it will take some time for the rules to be hammered out and put into effect. “Its five years out before implementation,” Said Peter Bale, an Engineer with Drone Engine Manufacturer Uav Turbines.

The rules currently in place are fairly loose. Drones use for recreational purposes that weigh than half a pound can be operated plexy anywhere as long as they ‘not flow near an airport and fly at an altitet of mess 400 religions. (One Notable Exception: You’re not supposed to fly with new York City.) Drones Flown for Commercial Purposes – A Category that Likely Includes The Mysterious Spotted Over Colorado and Nebraska – Follow StrICter Rule, Called Part 107. up to 55 pounds but must be registered with the faa, and operators must have a remote pilot certification.

Part 107 DRONES ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FLY AT NIGHT OUT OF LINE OF SIGHT OF THE OPERATOR, AS The Mystery Drone Swarms Appear to Have Done. But operators can Apply for Waivers From these rules from the faa, which has granted thusands of say. Becuses the waves do not generaly specific a geographical are with what they have been used, the list of issuans can’t help who might be respectible for the Cases at Hand.

The use of uavs has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2018, there are 1.8 million commercial drones in service in the us; by 2022 that number is expensive to grow to 5.7 million – suggesting that utexplained drone swarms will only become more common.

GIVEN HUMAN NATURE, IT’S UNLICELY THAT ALL SCH ACTIVITY WILL BE BENIGIN. LAST YEAR, Creatively Malicious Users Employed Drones to DROP CONTRABAND intoo an ohio prison and to DROP HOMEMADE BOMBS onto an ex-girlfriend’s home. In England, Unknown Uavs Have Forced Authorities to Temporaryily Close Both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. SO for now is a race between the public’s apertide for Mayhem and the faa’s attempts to rein in the chaos.

“It ‘going to be interesting to watch,” Said Bale.