A Big And Bizarre Drone Mystery Is Unfolding In Rural Colorado

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The sequence so far from what I've read:

1. Large formations seen.
2. Large, internal combustion engine drones verified as seen by a drone professional.
3. Foolish hobbyist RC pilots apparently get into the act.
4. Conjecture: More people now pay attention to aircraft in the night sky and everything seen there becomes a "drone."
 
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4. Conjecture: More people now pay attention to aircraft in the night sky and everything seen there becomes a "drone."

Aircraft landing lights can be seen for up to fifty miles, and due to distance, low translation makes them appear to 'hover', therefore, 'drones' (or in the past, common UFO's). The lights dim and appear to streak away when the aircraft turns on final. They've always been there, but nobody looked because they weren't told there was something to see. They'll still be there a month from now when this isn't news anymore.
 
Some short, decent shots, one in daylight that looked like the far rearward wing location on a Martin V-Bat. Also mention of a 6 foot diameter multirotor with 8 propellers.

 
Aircraft landing lights can be seen for up to fifty miles, and due to distance, low translation makes them appear to 'hover', therefore, 'drones' (or in the past, common UFO's). The lights dim and appear to streak away when the aircraft turns on final. They've always been there, but nobody looked because they weren't told there was something to see. They'll still be there a month from now when this isn't news anymore.
Yep, and that's unfortunate because there are plenty of instances on video of obvious to me large, internal combustion powered (the sound of which helps with a vehicle size estimate) drones which have been witnessed by skilled observers who know the difference. The actual professional/military/DHS or whatever drone exercise could end tomorrow, but we'd never know that because of the garbage reports continuing to come in.
 
Elaine Chao: We still haven’t identified operators of mystery drones in Colorado and Nebraska
24 Jan 2020

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elaine-chao-drones-unidentified-colorado-nebraska-185006691.html

In late December, numerous reports emerged about mysterious groups of drones flying around the skies of eastern Colorado and Nebraska. Seen around the same time each night starting at 7:00 p.m. and running until 10:00 p.m., the drones were reported to measure 6 feet across, moving in groups as large as 30. The drones raised concerns among residents and law enforcement in the region, and, according to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, we might never know who’s been flying them.

"We don't know who they belong to, we don't know who's operating them, to this day we do not," Chao told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

We're very lucky nothing happened, so the local law enforcements have stepped down," she explained. "So we're not actively investigating that, because the local law enforcement stood down."
[Meaning, "Oh, well, the mystery remains and we don't care. Local cops stopped looking so we will, too. After all, it served its purpose and we certainly don't want to dig deeper to find out what was behind it." Perfect timing as stated in the following title found within the linked news column. - W]

Perfect timing for new rules

The news of the investigations into the drones comes as Chao and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) push for a new rule that would allow for the remote identification of drones in flight. The FAA currently requires owners of both commercial and consumer-grade drones that weigh between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds register them with the agency. [NO, regardless of the impression STILL made in FAA's on-line materials and incorrectly made since day one that it is individual aircraft that are registered, it's the PILOT that is registered and issued an ID number that is supposed to be placed on all aircraft owned over the cutoff weight and flown outdoors. Individual aircraft will need to be registered once new rules are enacted after the period of the FAA pretending to listen to public input has ended. - W]
 
Some one needs to take the "proper steps" to obtain one of those drones . . . Plenty of hunters out there.

Dave F.
“Mighty Hunter” (on land he or she doesn’t own) shoots down internal combustion engine drone. Drone crashes and burns, ignites local fields, houses, warehouses, etc. “Mighty Hunter” can go from hero to villain in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes the simplest answer isn’t the best.

Alternative version, “Mighty Hunter” uses a rifle instead of shot gun. One bullet misses, aimed at 45 degrees upward , travels waaaaaay down range and hits Miss Jones, single mother of three coming home late from working two jobs.

This is WHY military forces in U.S. have dedicated gun, artillery, and bombing ranges.
 
Some one needs to take the "proper steps" to obtain one of those drones . . . Plenty of hunters out there.
They simply need to take a high resolution, zoom lens tele-photo of one or many in daylight or high intensity spotlighted at night (no imaging infrared required) to properly ID their type. To my knowledge, no one has. Considering the minimal equipment required which even serious photography hobbyists could afford and many own, why hasn't any government agency done so to my knowledge about this "serious" and oh so "concerning" mystery? Hmmmmm...
 
They simply need to take a high resolution, zoom lens tele-photo of one or many in daylight or high intensity spotlighted at night (no imaging infrared required) to properly ID their type. To my knowledge, no one has. Considering the minimal equipment required which even serious photography hobbyists could afford and many own, why hasn't any government agency done so to my knowledge about this "serious" and oh so "concerning" mystery? Hmmmmm...

Since they are not registered and, likely, bear no markings, how could ownership be established ? Also, they might not be commercially-produced.
 
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Since they are not registered and. likely, bear no markings, how could ownership be established ? Also, they might not be commercially-produced.
Ownership would most probably not be determined, but TYPE alone would provide some clues. If you'd read my other entries in this thread, it is clear that a six foot diameter multi-rotor with eight motors/props was being used and there is a very expensive commercial drone like that. Also, I pointed out that in a daylight video, the drone had the very unusual configuration of the Martin military drone I'd covered in detail.

Something is better than nothing and we have nothing. It remains a "big mystery" and, as I also pointed out, the head of the Fed DOT said, to paraphrase, "Well, the local cops aren't looking for them any more, so we won't either."

My point is that there is no excuse for not knowing considering the simple equipment which could have given us some clues and we should then ask why what I mentioned was not done, apparently by anyone, especially not by an "oh, so concerned" government.
 
The hunters I know are smart enough to not shoot at mysterious drones that the government aren't trying too hard to identify. But there are Elmer Fudds out there.

Local Elmer Fudd takes a couple shots at a drone.

Drone fleet self defense system activates.

Seconds later, local Elmer Fudd's head turns into a red mist.

Back at Northrop's HQ, drone division executives watching camera footage of the incident laugh and raise their glasses to the successful field test of their system.

Local medical examiner with men in dark suits standing behind him explain to Fudd's widow that it was a suicide, thus making her ineligible for life insurance.
 
The sooner the mystery is solved, the better for all concerned . . . The simplest way is to down one of them and start from there.

The longer this goes on, the more draconian the new regulations are likely to be.

Dave F.

So go shoot one down already.
 
If they haven't done it yet they're not going to.

You're going to let 1,600 miles stop you from being the hero hunter that brings down a drone, ends the mystery and saves everyone from draconian regulations?
 
I think the honest reason that nobody knows much about the drones is because for the most part they are (rightfully) treated as little more than a curiosity. I don't think anyone really cares enough to seriously investigate or do anything about them. It would be one thing if they were over a city, suburb or industrial area, but that part of Colorado is pretty much the middle of nowhere.
 
No need to shoot one down, we used devices that block radio signals in AF & IQ. Using one here would drop the drones so you could investigate the actual drone OR kick in a return to launch point program which leads you to the launch point and probably the operator - unless they launch and recover and different locals.
 
I know...

Amazon is rehearsing for drone based Black Friday deliveries!

I know that was a joke . . .

However, I think the future of Delivery by Drone will spawn a whole, new "cottage industry" of "entrepreneurs" who will start downing Drones to steal the packages they are carrying. That should greatly increase business on eBay, as the "loot" is turned into "cold cash".

Dave F.
 
However, I think the future of Delivery by Drone will spawn a whole, new "cottage industry" of "entrepreneurs" who will start downing Drones to steal the packages they are carrying. That should greatly increase business on eBay, as the "loot" is turned into "cold cash".
I agree. There are already "porch pirates" in the news who steal packages from patios. Next MO: watch drone from distance, wait until it lands, delivers the package and takes off, then steal the package.

Also, how much will urban and suburban residents trying to relax on their patios and in their backyards absolutely love the constant whine from above of such drones? I see a potential uptick in shotgun shell sales.

And how many lawsuits are there going to be from the required large drones crashing to the ground from bird strikes?

Personally, I think "drone delivery" of anything other that low mass, time-critical supplies to medical personnel in the field or to industry is nothing more than a pipe dream.
 
I wonder if, if we do get a "drone delivery service" be it for Amazon, for beer from the local corner store, pizza, etc.. (the non-emergency stuff), if the drones will have to follow a specified corridor, like only flying down known roadways, at a set altitude..

I also wonder if there is a mechanism, so that only the intended recipient is able to 'unlock' the compartment. And, if there is a notice to ensure you are home, or that said drone can drop off it's cargo, to an actual person, within a set time. (It knows you're home, or will be home at XX time.. I've seen a drone delivery system for pizza (or was it medication) and the thing will wait for you to key in your ID & password. It'll then return home empty...

How accurate are people with long guns? able to shoot a moving target at 1000' up? is there a limit to the "average Joe" successfully shooting down one of these things?
 
How accurate are people with long guns? able to shoot a moving target at 1000' up? is there a limit to the "average Joe" successfully shooting down one of these things?

I think this part of it is less of an issue than it seems. Given practical drone range (5-10 miles maybe?), it's unlikely that there's going to be delivery outside of cities. Most places that have the population density to support drone delivery also don't allow you to fire guns from your porch because of the chances of hitting a bystander. I think it's pretty unlikely that we'll see drone hunting by firearm anytime soon. A net-based hunt may be practical using rocket nets. This could perhaps bring it full circle to TRF. :)
 
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