Exclusive for newsletter subscribers. AISC founder Larry Friese discusses the 2018 Stratfor Drone Threat Forecast.
Counter-UAS News from Around the World
Reuters: U.S. bars drones over nuclear sites for security reasons
“The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it will bar drone flights over seven major U.S. nuclear sites, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The move is the latest in a series of growing restrictions on unmanned aerial vehicles over U.S. sites that have national security implications. The new restrictions begin Dec. 29 and include the Hanford Site in Washington State, Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, Pantex Site in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Site and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The FAA said it is considering additional requests from other federal security agencies to bar drones.”
Eurasiareview: Rogue Aquatic Drones – Analysis
“Drones can facilitate terrorism and crime. As maritime technologies particularly aquatic drones progressively grow, it is a matter of time before new threats emerge. The application of drones for tactical purposes was the preserve of security agencies. As technology becomes increasingly commercialised for myriad purposes, malicious non-state actors such as terrorists and criminals could circumvent international trade regimes that restrict the transfer of potentially dual-use technologies including drones. Terrorists have reportedly retrofitted aerial drones to conduct attacks and surveillance. The proliferation of aquatic drones may plausibly widen the terrorists’ capabilities and opportunities for attacks to coastal cities.”
Bloomberg: Drone Tracking Plan Moves U.S. Delivery by Air Closer to Reality
“The committee’s report to the Federal Aviation Administration, released Tuesday, is a significant step toward widening drone flights to allow them over people, urban areas and over long distances. A system to track and identify drones is necessary before companies such as as Alphabet Inc.’s X and Amazon.com Inc. can deliver packages via unmanned drones, or for utilities and railroads can broaden their use for inspections. While the report laid out the rough specifications necessary for such tracking, various interest groups dissented over whether certain small drones would get waivers to fly without being identified.”
Drone Life: Industry Responds to FAA UAS Remote ID and Tracking Report
“Organizations have quickly made their reactions and responses public by issuing statements. Leading drone manufacturer DJI was among the first, coming out in support of their own Aeroscope system which uses a direct broadcast system (one of two identified options in the report.) The Drone Manufacturers Alliance, of which DJI is a member, followed up with their own statement in support of broadcast technology – and a method that will utilize an integrated solution rather than require additional equipment. “The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) report demonstrates that local broadcast technology is a viable and efficient way to address safety and security concerns about drones,” says the statement. “With remote identification standards in place, the FAA can move forward on rulemaking to allow more expansive beneficial uses of drones, including by flying at night, over people and beyond the operator’s visual line of sight.””
National Defense: Counterterrorism Rapid Acquisition Group Touts its Success
“As for the counter-small UAS problem, that is both evolving and complex, he said. The first requirements were for base security and the solutions were static. Then the military wanted something portable that could be carried by two people. Now, it wants on-the-move protection for vehicles. That is a big challenge as it requires a radar, electro-optic and infrared sensors discriminating objects all while moving at 40 miles per hour. And then the system must stop the enemy UAV. “It takes a little technology,” he said.”
ExecutiveGov: DoD Deploys New Object Classification Algorithm Onboard ScanEagle UAS Platform
“The Defense Department has integrated a new object classification algorithm onboard a ScanEagle unmanned aerial system which flew on the battlefield as part of an effort to help Special Command analysts exploit intelligence from drone video feeds, Defense One reported Thursday.”
Metro: Gangsters use sophisticated drone fleet to have box sets and drugs dropped into prison
“Gangsters in the Manchester prison demanded the drones dropped The Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy on USB sticks compatible with Playstation 2s, tiny mobile phones, drugs and tobacco. At one stage last year drone pilot Damon Keegan, 25, from Crumpsall was flying packages into the jail nightly, with made to order consignments of drugs, tobacco and communication gadgets.”
Thejournal.ie: Just one prosecution over illegal drone use since regulations introduced
“HERE HAS BEEN just one prosecution in relation to the unauthorised use of a drone since restrictions were introduced two years ago. Thousands of these devices from across the country have been officially registered and it is estimated that the numbers of non-commercial drones may be significantly higher.”
U.S. News and World Report: Myanmar Police to Free Journalists Working for Turkish Broadcaster
“Myanmar police said on Tuesday they would drop pending charges against two journalists working for Turkey’s state broadcaster, their interpreter and driver, who were jailed in November for violating an aircraft law by filming with a drone. Cameraman Lau Hon Meng from Singapore, reporter Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia, Aung Naing Soe – a local journalist who was interpreting for the pair – and driver Hla Tin were detained by police on Oct. 27 near Myanmar’s parliament building in the capital Naypyitaw.”
Stratfor: Terrorism and Insurgency: Drones
“While conventional weapons such as firearms, blades and motor vehicles will continue to be the weapon of choice for jihadists trying to attack the West, there is an incentive to try new weapons in an effort to cause more alarm and panic. One new tactic we expect to see during 2018 is the use of drones in a terrorist attack outside of the battlefield.”
The Sacramento Bee: Enterprising couple pioneered drone delivery service – for drugs, police say
“Drones are widely expected to revolutionize commercial deliveries. Count this couple among the early adopters. Benjamin Paul Baldassarre, 39, and Ashley Lauren Carroll, 31, were arrested Dec. 21 on suspicion of using a drone to deliver drugs to customers in a parking lot near their Riverside, California, home, according to the Riverside Police Department. In early December, residents complained to police about drone activity in their neighborhood. Officers observed a drone leave the back yard of a home and fly to a parking lot, where it dropped a package of drugs recovered by waiting customers, police wrote on Facebook. The parking lot belonged to a church, police told The Associated Press. After receiving their delivery, customers drove past the home and tossed cash onto the front lawn.”
Unian: Ukrainian troops shoot down Russian drone in ATO zone
“A Russian-made Orlan-10-type unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down by Ukrainian troops in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone on Thursday, December 28, according to the TV news service TSN.”
Arms Control Work Podcast: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH IRANIAN DRONES
“Ambassador Nikki Haley gave quite the presentation a few weeks ago. Standing in front of two Qiam/Burkan-2H missile pieces, the US Ambassador the UN called out Iran for its proliferation activities in the Middle East. Two weeks, Aaron and Jeffrey talked at length about the missile. In this episode, Aaron circles back to the other two objects shown off: An Iranian drone and suicide boat. To talk Iranian drones and regional proliferation, Aaron spoke with Adam Rawnsley, the co-author of Foreign Policy’s SitRep, and a top expert on all things unmanned.”
Defense Blog: Houthi Navy seized autonomous spy underwater vehicle
“The Houthi Navy released short video showing the seized underwater drone looks like as the REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicle. The REMUS (Remote Environmental Measuring UnitS) is a marine robot developed by Kongsberg Maritime. The REMUS 600 AUV / marine robot was designed through funding from the Office of Naval Research to support the Navy’s growing need for operations requiring extended endurance, increased payload capacity, and greater operating depth. The AUVs can be equipped with a variety of payloads and sensors the meet the customer’s requirements in both oceanic and shallow waters.”
Washington Times: 13 drones in four days: How drug smugglers are using technology to beat Border Patrol
“Border Patrol agents are increasingly worried about the threat from drug-cartel-flown drones, after agents spotted 13 drones suspected of carrying drugs across one section of the U.S.-Mexico border in just one four-day period in November. Cartels are aware that the U.S. lacks the ability to detect the drones, much less to interdict them, making them a choice method for smuggling high-dollar hard drugs into the country, agents said. They said the fact that they even spotted the 13 drones was serendipitous and only hints at the scope of the real problem.”
NY Times: Fishermen in Mexico Shoot Down Environmental Group’s Drone
“The environmental group Sea Shepherd said fishermen fired 25 shots at one of its night-vision drones in Mexico’s Gulf of California, bringing it down. Various drones have been employed to patrol the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to combat illegal fishing and save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world’s smallest porpoise.”
You Tube: M SHORAD Demonstration General Dynamics Boeing System
“#TeamWSMR recently hosted demonstrations of several Maneuver – Short Range Air Defense Systems (M-SHORAD). Check out this video for a recap.”
UAS Magazine: DroneGun a countermeasure to drone terror attacks
“The DroneGun, which looks like a weapon from a sci-fi movie, is made by DroneShield, a company founded four years ago in the U.S. that now has offices in Virginia and Australia. With terrorist organizations making greater use of drones as weapons, Oleg Vornik, CEO of DroneShield, said government security agencies and militaries around the world see DroneGun as an effective countermeasure to the threat.”
Pew Research: 8% of Americans say they own a drone, while more than half have seen one in operation
“Drones are catching on as consumer goods. As of mid-2017, 8% of Americans say they own a drone and 59% say they have seen one in action, according to a Pew Research Center survey. But while drones – that is, aircraft without on-board human pilots – are more prevalent than they were a few years ago, many have reservations about where and under what circumstances their use should be allowed.”
Ed. Note: There was no definition of a “drone” (i.e. size, application, etc.)
BBC: Russia thwarts drone attack on Hmeimim airbase
“The attempt to bomb the Hmeimim base near the north-western city of Latakia on Saturday was thwarted when unmanned aircraft were shot down, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.”
The Telegraph: Growing number of horses bolting after being spooked by low flying drones
“Increasing numbers of riders are being thrown from their horses and suffering injuries after their steeds have been spooked by low flying drones. Around a dozen incidents of drone horse scares have been reported over the past year, but the actual figure is feared to be far higher – with many riders not reporting their experiences.”
Philadelphia Inquirer: FBI: Drones spotted in sky before title game despite ban
“The FBI says drones have been spotted in restricted air space surrounding the Atlanta stadium where college football’s title game will be held, despite a temporary ban. FBI spokesman Kevin Rowson said Sunday that flying drones or aircraft in the area of Mercedes-Benz stadium and the nearby entertainment venues is a violation of federal law.”
The Register: UK drone collision study didn’t show airliner window penetration
“A British drone collision study used as evidence for the government’s flagship drone pilot registration law found UAVs pose less of a risk to airliners than government officials and trade unions have claimed. The study, which the government refused to reveal in full despite being asked by industry and news media alike, is the key piece of supposedly scientific evidence backing its proposed Drone Bill.”