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
They’re mandatory where I live.
“Unwarranted surveillance”. They should have outlawed the so-called “smart meters” then too.
There can’t be “any going back”. The government is either paranoid or have an agenda. Releasing drones by the thousands in the skies over the US means in their minds that something is coming down the pike they feel the need to be prepared for.
I wish them all the best with the little robo nano bots. The American people don’t live in bubbles. We live and breath and communicate amongst each other. I truly believe that most of our elected officials haven’t been around their constituents enough. The sheeple will only follow along for just so long before they catch on.
Seen the new GI Joe yet? They used them on there. Even GI Joe couldn’t do anything about them. We’re helpless against mosquito drones. I’m thinking we should create a spray-on liquid that has magnetic properties to short-circuit the drones. Of course, we’ll have to capture a drone mosquito first to do a test on it.
The potential of technology to invade our privacy is real, whether these are in design stage or not. The truth is our government has become increasingly callous about personal liberty and we have to stay on guard. Speaking of the truth: Snopes itself is censured so how can they be a trusted source? Look up aspartame on snopes and you will find a carefully crafted response directly from the FDA.
America was forged in Revolution and a lot of people didn’t see the danger of having a King on a throne in England dictating what Americans could do and what taxes they would pay. Now we have King Obama-Wanna-Be and you still have people thinking well I’m not doing anything wrong so I’m exempt from any hassle and the government just wants to get those “BAD” people and I’ll be fine. In World War 2, someone said; when they came after the Jews, I said nothing. When they came after the Bad people, the gypsy’s and other undesirables, I said nothing. Now they’ve came for me and nobody is left to speak for me. Why didn’t I speak up when there was still time to speak. Thanks Sarah, we need to know what’s going on so we can speak out before it’s too late. What are all the good people who are doing nothing wrong going to do when the operator’s of these drones decide to view you or your children taking a bath or worse and post it on the internet? The government used the war on drugs to destroy most of the constitution and bill of rights and George Bush used the 911 attacks to destroy the Posse Commitatus act that prevented the military from having authority to arrest and detain civilians except in times of national emergency and even then they had to work with local authority. Now Barack Obama wants to not only take our guns away because of the acts of deranged killers, while the federal government declined to prosecute tens of thousands of crimes of gun violence and trying to obtain firearms by convicted felons. They want to go after the law abiding people, the good people for the acts of insane or criminal perpetrators and make excuses for not enforcing the gun laws already on the books. How many helpless unborn babies were aborted today? The government wants one thing and one thing only and that is total control of our lives from the cradle to the grave to help perpetuate their stereotype of the new world order that doesn’t want free thinkers or open minded people with common sense and decency. If gay marriage passes like abortion, how long will it be before NAMBA is also allowed. The national man/boy association openly and proudly declared their right to have sex with little boys when they marched in Bill Clinton’s inaugural parade and the Democrats seem to think this is a civil right’s issue, also. Where does it end and when do people say enough is enough? What isn’t taboo anymore?
I’m disappointed with this. I have always enjoyed your site, but I think this is a bit of scare mongering. I think Kelly’s response was a good one!
Incredible! Thanks for this insightful posting, Sarah.
With stories like these, WHY people don’t believe in conspiracy theories is beyond me!
This is very interesting considering the message I listened to last night based on Revelations Chapter 9. I have been pondering what it could all mean. This is really giving me food for thought! Very Interesting Indeed!
Here in Revelations it talks about something … Could it be drones???
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
lol.. ok i’ll stop..