Time to look up that post that reported there were sightings of multiple drones.

[Baitball Blogger]

Could this have been a practice run?

It’s Creepy’: Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado

Sheriffs in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado say they don’t know who’s flying the drones — or why. The F.A.A. is investigating.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/us/drones-FAA-colorado-nebraska.html




TECH
Mysterious Swarms of Giant Drones Keep Appearing at Night Over Colorado
IRENE JIAN, BUSINESS INSIDER
3 JAN 2020

Something strange has been happening in eastern Colorado at night.

Since the week of Christmas, giant drones measuring up to 6 feet (1.8 metres) across have been spotted in the sky at night, sometimes in swarms as large as 30.

https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-swarms-of-giant-drones-keep-appearing-at-night-over-colorado

[MineralMan]

1. The differences between those drones in Colorado and

the armed Predator and Reaper drones being used in Iraq are enormous. There's really no relationship between the two.

The wingspan of an MQ-9 Reaper is 66 feet. The drones in Colorado are about 6 feet in size.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-9_Reaper

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I just wonder, how many of the ones that are six feet in size are needed to

cause the same damage as a military drone? I imagine you would need small drones to go under the radar?

[MineralMan]

3. Those small drones can't carry missiles, so they can't do

any damage, really. As for radar, the drones used in Iraq don't worry about radar. The only force with any capability of destroying such a drone in that particular area is the United States. Our drones there operate pretty freely, as needed.

The drones in Colorado, whatever it is they're doing, have cameras, not weapons. They're commercial reconnaissance drones, nor armed military drones.

[lame54]

4. Unless they are a missle

[Baitball Blogger]

5. .

[MineralMan]

6. But they're not missiles.

They're camera drones. Judging from the photos of them, I'd guess they weigh about 20 lb. each. They might dent your car if they fell on it, but they're not missiles.

Here's a commercial drone about that size:



It costs about $6000, and weighs 22 lb. It can carry about 13 pounds, typically a camera.

[jpak]

7. Unless they are Turkish Kamikaze Drones

https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/2019/09/12/domestically-developed-kamikaze-drones-to-join-turkish-armys-inventory-as-of-2020

[MineralMan]

8. They were not that. I saw video of them hovering.

They are multi-prop copter drones. For pete's sake, why are you trying to link one thing with another? That's silly.

[cwydro]

9. Some people seem determined to panic.

Or make up things that just aren’t true.

Odd, that.

[jpak]

21. Why haven't the drone operators revealed themselves?

Odd, that.

[jberryhill]

28. What's odd about it?

When you are going about your lawful business, you have no obligation to explain yourself to strangers.

There’s no law being broken, so the drone operators have no reason to explain what they are up to.

If they are doing some kind of survey for a commercial purpose, then they certainly aren’t going to give away whatever proprietary data or techniques they are using.

I don’t see why some feel a need to pry into the business of others if nothing illegal is going on.

Is there some kind of probable cause that a crime is being committed? If not, then people in my country are free to go about their business.

Maybe things are different in your country.

I don’t believe they the public has some general right to know what law abiding people are up to.

[jpak]

29. Let them video your house every night

and tell me about it

[jberryhill]

30. Is something illegal going on? Yes or no?

They are not videoing anyone’s house every night.

Did you read the article?

What kind of country do you come from where people who are not violating any law are required to explain themselves to the public at large?

[jpak]

31. Local LE and the FAA want to know

is that good enough?

Do tell

[jberryhill]

32. No, that's not good enough

I’m sure there are lots of things cops want to know. Without a warrant, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed, then they aren’t going to find out jack shit.

Big Ag and a variety of polluting industries would like to make it illegal to survey their properties or photograph them from a lawful position (ie from off the property or from within public airspace).

We do not live in a country where the cops can run around demanding answers from people who are not violating the law.

I realize there are people who are comfortable with such societies in which “a cop wants to know” is reason enough. They are generally not Democrats.

[jpak]

33. Are you insinuating something?

Democrats welcome unauthorized surveillance of their homes and property?

Privatized Stasi?

lol

[jberryhill]

37. I'm insinuating that people who are not breaking the law...

...cannot be compelled to explain themselves.

It’s a simple principle and fairly basic.

[cwydro]

35. Why should they?

Maybe they’re enjoying being the center of a mystery.

Who knows?

[jpak]

10. Because any large drone can be weaponized

That's the issue.

[MineralMan]

11. Sure. But it takes a very large drone, like one of our

military Predator or Reaper drones to carry missiles large enough to blow vehicles into smithereens. Little commercial drones can't do that. Nope. Not a chance.

Here's the drone that was used in Iraq. Wingspan 66 feet. Cost? Umpteen Million Dollars



Here's a large commercial camera drone. Diameter 6 feet. It can carry 13 pounds. Cost? $6000

[jpak]

13. Nope - the Turkish kamikaze drones are man-portable.

Russia has a similar drone for sale. (made by Kalashnikov)

https://www.stripes.com/polopoly_fs/1.570015.1550937326!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_900/image.jpg

And Russia used a copter-type drone to drop a thermite grenade into a Ukrainian ammunition depot - destroyed a billion dollars worth of munitions.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/news/a27511/russia-drone-thermite-grenade-ukraine-ammo/

and they do not have to carry a warhead at all to shut down a major airport.

If an operator can deploy 30 drones at night over CO without the knowledge of law enforcement or the FAA or the military - they can make a lot of mischief.

There ought to be a law.

[lame54]

17. I actially was not suggesting they were...

Just pointing out a 6 foot drone could be a kamikaze bomb

Again - not saying those were

[Bradical79]

19. Would be a bizzare thing for our military to use

Considering we've got a lot of very precise missle launching drones already in the skies. A kamikaze drone would be more of an IED thing from a much lower tech militarized group. There's zero reason for the U.S. to use such a thing for assassinations.

[lame54]

20. I failed to make my point...

It was pointed out that these couldn't possibly hold missles because of their size

I was pointing that they wouldn't need to CARRY missles if they WERE missles

Wasn't talking about our govt or their govt or any govt

Was just saying deadly drones can come in any size

[cwydro]

12. Oh, for crying out loud.

[Bradical79]

14. No. Maybe military or a company testing new tech

Reading about them, they're very different than what we use for strikes, relatively slow, and seem easy to spot.

I've seen it described as operating as a swarm, so maybe testing some kind of experimental drone coordinating system?

Example:

[Baitball Blogger]

15. I've seen the drone light-shows in China.

very spectacular.

[sarisataka]

16. Flying with blinking lights

And hovering over houses, yup definitely a military operation. Training for a missile strike in Iraq. No other explanation is possible.

[Bradical79]

18. Oh, there's defenitely another possible explanation...

[CabalPowered]

22. How is it that no drones have tailed these drones.

Surely someone in Colorado has a drone capable of following the swarm..

[Baitball Blogger]

23. The Drone Wars.

I wonder who wins in a drone war?

[CabalPowered]

24. Drone manufacturers

And their suppliers..

[ck4829]

25. Good question

[doc03]

26. Check the History Channel I am sure it

has to with ancient aliens.

[jberryhill]

27. WTF?

The military has practically unlimited stretches of desert to play with, but instead they put blinking lights on them and run them over populated areas?

Yah right.

[hunter]

34. They're spraying experimental aerosol vaccines on the homes of anti-vaxers.

A little bird told me...

[cwydro]

36. Lol. You win the thread!

I’ve heard crazier theories here.