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Thanks largely to robots, Ukraine is now talking about winning, not just surviving
What is the Chinese military thinking about the Iran war?
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In apparent first, Navy drone boat rescues helicopter crew downed at sea
The Navy wants next-generation munitions, so it’s spending millions on innovation hubs
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Thanks largely to robots, Ukraine is now talking about winning, not just surviving
What is the Chinese military thinking about the Iran war?
Shaped charges from coffee grounds? Pentagon science chief describes future of war
In apparent first, Navy drone boat rescues helicopter crew downed at sea
The Navy wants next-generation munitions, so it’s spending millions on innovation hubs
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I Could Kill You with a Consumer Drone
As a former intelligence soldier who now sells drones for a living, I can tell you that this problem is bigger than almost anyone realizes.
Brett Velicovich
June 27, 2017
Commentary
Drones
Special Operations
By Brett Velicovich
June 27, 2017
Commentary
Drones
Special Operations
Right now, I’m holding a drone that can fly thousands of feet in air in less than 30 seconds, getting it to an altitude where no one could see it. My drone could be up in the air, ready to strike a target before you even had time to blink.<br>A range extender I’ve added to the antenna allows me to control it up to seven miles away. Or I can click a button to activate a tracking device, ordering my drone to follow a vehicle or person, filming every movement in 4K high-definition video. If it ever loses its radio link to the controller, it can automatically return to its launch location. Except — this drone is not meant to come back. It is not meant to take nice photos of my vacation. It is meant to strike. A small mechanism allows it to carry and drop a 2.5-pound payload — potentially grenades, bombs, even poison.<br>Think that’s pretty high tech? Guess what — you can buy it at your local Apple store or Walmart.<br>As a former soldier in the U.S. Army with previous access to some of the most sophisticated and sensitive drone technology in our government’s arsenal, and as the current owner of a consumer drone business that sells tens of thousands of drones every year, I can tell you that the U.S. government should be concerned. I know how consumers are modifying them to meet their needs, and I can tell you that the problem is going to get bigger than anyone thinks, and fast.<br>In 2016, more than 2.5 million drones were sold in the U.S., more than twice as many as the previous year. That’s doesn’t even account for the millions of other drone sales worldwide. At one point, the multibillion-dollar Chinese manufacturer DJI was selling over 100,000 of the drone I described above every single month around the world. While great for businesses like mine, these types of devices can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
When most people look at drones that are readily available online, they have no idea what they can do.
When most people look at drones that are readily available online, they have no idea what they can do. From little kids flying in their backyard to seniors getting these as holiday gifts, most people think of these incredibly technologically advanced devices as simply toys or fun flying cameras. The majority of them have no intention to use these to hurt anyone.<br>But as we all know, the majority is not what we care about, it’s the outliers. It’s the foreign governments that sponsor terrorism and the criminal organizations that might use this technology as an unconventional weapon, and even on U.S. soil. In my new memoir, Drone Warrior, I explain that the gap between government and consumer drone technology is getting narrower by the day; the government regulations designed to do something before it...