The government may soon commandeer drones near airports

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

CACI International, the defense and intelligence contractor, is working on a system that could soon track and overtake rogue drones flying too close to airports, an increasing concern of the Federal Aviation Administration as it struggles to regulate the proliferation of flying robots.

Once deployed, the company’s system could not only make aviation officials aware of where the unmanned aerial vehicles are but pinpoint the location of their operators, the company said. Using technology developed for the military, officials could also interfere with the drone’s signal, commandeer the vehicle so that it flies out of sensitive airspace.

Company officials discussed the new program Thursday as they released financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The company reported revenue grew nearly 1 percent to $822.4 million and said that it won $1.9 billion in contracts during the quarter. Profits rose 8 percent, to $33.8 million,over the same period a year ago.

Earlier this month, the FAA announced its partnership with Arlington-based CACI to study how the drone-tracking technology works within a five-mile radius of airports. In an interview, CACI’s chief executive Ken Asbury said that the system could help law enforcement officials hunt illegal operators and keep drones from entering sensitive airspace.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-government-may-soon-commandeer-drones-near-airports/2015/10/29/da2443aa-7e62-11e5-b575-d8dcfedb4ea1_story.html

[annabanana]

1. Living, as I do, in the flight path

of a very busy runway at JFK Airport.. I understand the need for some control of the airspace.

[Warpy]

3. They can be a real privacy concern, also.

I imagine they'll be the next thing licensed and regulated. In the meantime, expect more angry fathers to use shotguns on the ones spying on teenage daughters.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. ..

[erronis]

4. Great. CACI is not a stellar example of doing "good".

They have consistently been connected with covert/black/stealth operations. I wonder why they have an interest in taking out drones? Perhaps because they don't want external visibility to their operations?

[jmowreader]

9. Or maybe because there's money in it for them?

[Vincardog]

13. BINGO create a "problem" and get paid to "solve" it

[annabanana]

15. DID give me pause..

I would rather someone else be in charge

[alphafemale]

5. As they damn well should.

If some birds can take down an airliner, a drone could be intentionally flown into an engine by some murderous asshole.

[jtuck004]

6. Commandeer their pilots, black sack on their head. Give them 30 days in Guantanamo. Problem over.

They are nothing but terrorists.

[Jerry442]

8. Why coddle these terrorists?

Once you've triangulated the controller's signal, just nail 'em with a Hellfire missile.

[jtuck004]

11. Too much collateral damage. If we aren't willing to put boots on the ground, we can't win.

May I point to the outstanding success of our drone program, in which some reports suggest that our civilian casualty rate is as high as 80% or more, where most of those killed were not the target.

Americans have proven that they can ignore this when the targets are not at home, but I suspect they may become less bloodthirsty when the blood is theirs.


To be more serious, there is little difference between the damage caused by a terrorist flying an airplane into the world trade center, and some dumb ass causing a fully loaded plane to veer on takeoff into a large hospital complex, say.

It's like having a person playing russian roulette with the planes.

It needs to stop right now. If it takes assassinating drone operators, so be it. Put the swat team on it. It will end in a damn hurry.

[FLPanhandle]

7. I have a drone and agree with this.

There are 1000's of drones users in this country but only a handful of incidents. I'm all for confiscating the drones of irresponsible users.

[Jerry442]

10. Cooler heads will prevail at some point.

The most likely outcome is that drones below some weight threshold will be unregulated, those in some middle range will be lightly regulated, and the big mofos will have a regulatory burden somewhat similar to actual manned aircraft.

[complain jane]

12. Ok forgive me but

this discussion is actually pertinent to me as I'm in the market for a drone for my GoPro just to shoot some aerial video. Is this the kind of drone we're talking about, or something more sinister?

[Agony]

14. Yes, any UAS

The FAA has partnered with several industry associations to promote Know Before You Fly, a campaign to educate the public about using unmanned aircraft safely and responsibly. Individuals flying for hobby or recreation are strongly encouraged to follow safety guidelines, which include:
Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
Don't fly near people or stadiums
Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft
The statutory parameters of a model aircraft operation are outlined in Section 336 of Public Law 112-95 (the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012) (PDF). Individuals who fly within the scope of these parameters do not require permission to operate their UAS; any flight outside these parameters (including any non-hobby, non-recreational operation) requires FAA authorization. For example, using a UAS to take photos for your personal use is recreational; using the same device to take photographs or videos for compensation or sale to another individual would be considered a non-recreational operation.

Cheers,
Enjoy flying!

sorry i forgot the link--->https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/

[complain jane]

16. Oh cool –

Thank you for all this info!

[NonMetro]

17. It's Sort Of Like The Situation With Autimobiles 100+ Years Ago

There were no laws governing their use. In this case, everyone is using common airspace and endangering other people. Laws need to be established, not just guidelines. Will we wait until some passenger place crashes because of one of these things before something is done?