When most people think of drones, they think of the picture to the right. An unmanned, aerial vehicle used in wartime situations on foreign soil.
While this perception is certainly true, the FAA Reauthorization Act signed into law in 2012 took the concept of drones to an entirely new – and frightening – level.
Predator drones once confined to the battlefields are already being used domestically for a wide range of functions. According to the Rutherford Institute, at least 30,000 drones will occupy U.S. airspace by 2020, a staggering $30 billion per year industry.
And these drones are not what you think they are.
I was shocked to learn recently that the vast majority of these thousands upon thousands of drones, some already unleashed over America’s skies, are tiny – even nano sized, and modeled after birds, insects and other small animals.
56 government agencies are currently authorized to use drones with 63 active drone sites across the nation. This includes 22 law enforcement agencies and 24 universities. The cheap cost of deploying drones compared with manned technologies is a big part of the driving force to quickly adopt drones in a widespread manner. For example, a manned helicopter or airplane can cost around $600/hour whereas a drone costs a fraction of that at less than $25/hour.
Pandora’s Box has already been opened with regard to drones, and there is no going back so we’d best just get ready to deal with it.
Here’s a rundown of some of the drones already developed according to a recent article by John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute:
Dragonfly drones. The US government is using small, aerial surveillance drones in the form of insects. Dragonfly drones were first reportedly used in 2007 to hover over protesters at an anti-war rally in Washington, DC. A year later, the US Air Force announced bumblebee drones that apparently cannot be detected. The purpose? To fly into buildings to “photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists.’”
Hummingbird drones. About the size of an actual hummingbird, “Nano Hummingbird” drones can fit into the palm of your hand. Developed by the Department of Defense, it is able to blend in with surroundings, flitting and surveilling as needed.
Black Hornet Nano drone. Comparable in size to a finch at about four inches long, this micro-helicopter drone is able to capture video footage and relay it along with still images to remote locations even in windy conditions.
Roachbots. Mimicking a cockroach’s covertness and a gecko’s speed, roach drones are 10 cm long running and climbing machines. UC Berkeley developed the little terrors that can perform “rapid inversion” maneuvers including dashing up to a ledge and then swinging around to end up underneath the ledge and upside-down – just like a real roach.
MicroBat drone. Designed to emulate the movement of birds and other flying animals, the bat drone was created by CIT Group, Aerovironment, and UCLA.
Spy-butterfly drone. Two large wings are the identifying features of another insect inspired drone unveiled in 2012 in Israel. Dubbed the “spy-butterfly”, it weighs only 20 grams with indoor surveillance its primary purpose including public areas such as mass transit stations, airports or even office buildings. These nearly noiseless butterfly drones are considered ideal for intelligence gathering and are apparently so realistic, that when they were tested, real birds and flies fell behind the bots that were arranging themselves into a flock.
Raven drone. While not as small or agile as other drones, the 4 lb raven drone is currently the most common and is already being used in mass numbers with an estimated 19,000 in the sky already. It is most useful for seeing around corners and sending footage back to its operators. Resembling a model airplane, the Raven apparently crumbles like a pile of Legos when it lands.
What the Drones Could Mean for Your Health
While the drones listed above are shocking enough, the most worrisome of all is the new mosquito drone.
I’ve written before about the unleashing of mutant, genetically engineered mosquitoes, but these mosquito bots are infinitely more concerning.
Mosquito drones are truly an engineering marvel but have the capability to violate your biological rights to a level never before witnessed in human history.
Using a needle-like pincer, mosquito drones have the potential to land on someone to extract DNA or inject tracking devices or drugs without the person’s knowledge or consent.
Software engineer Alan Lovejoy explains:
“Such a device could be controlled from a great distance and is equipped with a camera, microphone. It could land on you and then use its needle to take a DNA sample with the pain of a mosquito bite. Or it could inject a micro RFID tracking device under your skin. It could land on you and stay, so that you take it with you into your home. Or it could fly into a building through a window. There are well-funded research projects working on such devices with such capabilities.”
Would mosquito drones ever be used for such a blatant violation of civil rights? Considering that the government has already shown itself willing to violate the medical rights of its citizens by forcing the use of chemotherapy and other mandated medical procedures, I would say the answer to that question is “most definitely.”
Fortunately, the ability of the human spirit to creatively resist subjugation is always surprising, so no doubt numerous ways will be uncovered to disarm and avoid being violated by these drones as these technologies become more widely used by both public and private enterprises – all in the name of “safety” and “public health”.
Sources: Roaches, Mosquitoes, and Birds: The Coming Micro-Drone Revolution
I don’t understand when I leave a comment that disagrees with Sarah, it never seems to post. This tells me Sarah censures. And that is sad. For all opinions when spoken diplomatically and without hatred should be accepted. If censure is happening, than the discussion is very one sided. Odd, something that Sarah speaks out against often.
My fellow Christians who are up on eschatology will understand when I say that this might be the way Antichrist can keep tabs on everyone in the world after bringing in his one world government. Pretty amazing they can do this.
Thanks for writing about this Sarah.
I agree fully with Kelly – this picture is of a CONCEPT DESIGN and doesn’t exist in real application. More to the point, a drone big enough to carry an entire vaccine as a payload would be way bigger than a carpenter bee and probably very conspicuous and “swat-able.”
Seriously? This propagates radicalism. Those that spout we want no government involvement in our lives should go live in a 3rd world country who have no defense, support, infrastructure, regulated power supply, stable currency, funding for medical advancement, a proper education system, etc., etc. Critically speaking against our government and country is quite ludicrous for we take for granted how well we have it here in America and how hard our government works for us. I’m not saying I agree with everything they do, but there is no way we can EVER please all. But our system works for the most part and it is highly doubtful it will collapse in the coming century or turn against us and violate all our civil rights. If some minor infractions are needed to keep me safe, so be it. I have nothing to hide and if some surveillance catches me picking my nose… oh well!
dont forget to get your micro chip for health care in the next 5 years. Then don’t wine when you can’t get into heaven because you got the mark. after all you believe the Gov is there to protect you not harm you.
Kelly H. That’s what the Germans said when Hitler made their lives easier – at first. Keep drinking the koollaid! “Critically speaking against our government and country is quite ludicrous . . .”? That’s what the Founding Fathers did – and it bought YOUR freedom! Wake up!
Thank you for the interesting article. I did want to mention though that from my reading, much of this technology seems to be in the research phase and does not actually exist even in a prototype. They still have a long way to go before they could have mosquito drones. According to Snopes, the above picture is just a mock-up and not real.
As a Native American, I would believe in the total capacity of the government to harm or destroy the common man. Any government that is guilty of systematic genocide as this one is,L is capable of anything at anytime to anyone whom they perceive as a threat. Count on it!!! That’s why they hate the revival of traditional foods and biomedical….they work and are hard to control.
Are those of us who cherish our liberty not grieved to hear that Rand Paul has flip flopped about his stand on the use of drones. It does not matter how many terrorist incidents like what happened in Boston or Oklahoma City or New York or a hundred more bombings, we need men of strong resolve and level head – like Patrick Henry – who will not trade our liberty for security. “Give me liberty or give me death”.
And folks, just as we know that we do not get our rights from state government, but from our Creator, it is also true that the state government cannot give us liberty either. The liberty that our country has enjoyed for the last couple of centuries has only come from God, the only source of liberty.
Having turned our back on God, the constitution cannot guarantee our liberty. That’s because, as John Adams said about our constitution, he said that it was only good for a moral and religious (which meant Christian) people and that it was wholy inadequate for the governance of any other people.
It’s the same immoral greed that’s behind the big corporations like Monsanto and big pharmacies that is behind the proliferation of all this drone technology.
AMEN!!!!!
Amen from me too.
Mosquito drones are indeed horrifying. I had heard about them before, but thought they were only for surveillance. That’s bad enough. But to be able to inject something into someone this way without consent is just terrible. I wonder how we could defend against such a device!
Fear mongering and partially inaccurate – that mosquito drone does not currently exist other than as a goal. What do you propose we actually DO about it? Where is the paragraph about getting legal and written political action to tie the hands of unscrupulous government that would abuse this type of technology?
*Correction* You BELIEVE they don’t currently exist..
Whether or not they currently exist, this post is fear mongering and offering absolutely no solutions or steps to take to ensure civil liberties.
Presenting information is not fear mongering. People will draw their own conclusions and do their own research. In doing so, they will learn what they can do to make a difference. Or, like some, they will scoff and stick their heads in the sand, believing all will continue as it is.