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Drones shutdown Gatwick


Telegraph_it

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27 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

The people flying those drones and fucking up holiday travel for folks should be jailed for a long ass time. Travel is a big enough pain in the ass without this kind of stuff.

Exactly, lots of holiday travel messed up. Flights to MCO and LAS, for example, were canceled today.

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35 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Word is they’re commercial level drones and not your basic hobbyist model. Can’t imagine that hitting an airliner at 200 knots.

I think that is probably correct. This is perhaps the first time multiple drones have, in an apparent concentrated effort, been used to shut down a major airport. LGW is a good choice because it only has one runway. 

 

 

 

 

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6517701/Dont-come-Gatwick-TOMORROW-Airport-drone-chaos-spreads-day.html

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Gatwick has tonight told air passengers to avoid the airport 'for the forseeable future including tomorrow'  
All 760 flights to and from Gatwick were cancelled on Thursday leaving 110,000 furious passengers stranded
Police hunted for the drone pilot to no avail today as Army snipers stood ready to shoot the unmanned aircraft
The drone - spotted again at 4pm - is part of a 'highly targeted' attack to bring disruption, the airport believes 
Chaos began at 9pm yesterday with flight ban in place due to at least ten incursions over the main runway 
A large drone could bring down a passenger jet if it was sucked into jet engine or smashed hole in aircraft 

jesus christ.

also, why did the uk not scramble up the snipers immediately, and have them on duty already? this drone should be down already. there's not a single reason that they couldn't even have the snipers there in minutes. it's an international airport, for god's sake.

Edited by hayden_horn
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23 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Apparently they have not come to Surly for advice. I mean damn.

 

 

 

 

Seriously.  That's really fucking weak.

Have choppers on standby.  When a drone is detected, take off, have cops in the doorways with 12 gauges loaded with #8 shot.  You'll get your drones down.

Also, I would think that the RAF has resources to track radio signals?  If there are 4 drones airborne, the signals are going to be of a specific frequency, and are going to be directional.

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also, from my link to the daily mail above:

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Is it time for Britain to get anti-drone technology? Gatwick mayhem will renew calls for UK airports to have US defence system that downs unmanned aircraft with menacing radio waves
Calls for tougher anti-drone detection systems at UK airports that can spot devices up to five miles away within three seconds will be renewed today, following the suspension of flights at Gatwick Airport.

US airports use jammers to block the frequencies used to control drones, making them stop working if they are anywhere near a commercial or military runway. 

how in the fuck has the UK not implemented this technology? with the amount of international traffic through the london airports alone, one would think this would be a no brainer.

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They also have 'early warning' systems to tell air traffic control if a drone is approaching - but these are not in place at UK airports.

According to the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), there were 117 near misses between manned aircraft and drones up until November this year, compared to 93 for the whole of 2017 - a rise of 58 per cent.

Experts believe a large drone could take down a passenger jet because it could shred an engine if it was sucked in or destroy its windscreen or windows, causing a sudden drop in cabin pressure.

seriously. 117 near misses? it should have taken 1 near miss to install the jamming technology. wtf, britain?

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Just now, gsoda3 said:

the high quality ones can fly many thousands of feet high.  even a $xxx drone can get over a km in the air.

Right....that's why I suggested putting the shotgunners in choppers.  I know these aren't the kind of drones you can pop from a lawn chair with a cold Lone Star in your hand.  I think the cops, even in the UK, have resources that will put them in the air to take out threats.

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seriously. 117 near misses? it should have taken 1 near miss to install the jamming technology. wtf, britain? 

 

 

“Near miss” is a casual industry term, I believe. And it’s not really what it sounds like. I think it’s loosely used for stuff like “within 1000 feet,” “20 seconds apart,” etc.

 

But either way, you’re right in that they should have this tech already.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Right....that's why I suggested putting the shotgunners in choppers. 

Yes, this seems like a practical solution.

30 minutes ago, SpiralOut said:

Reminds me of a few years back when assholes were shining those super strong pen lasers at the cockpits of landing planes Lock 'em the fuck up and throw away the key.

Ironically I think this is basically the defense you would use. Sounds like the US uses radio waves. I'm guessing a high powered laser would fry the shit out of a drone. Prob more expensive, though.

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3 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yes, this seems like a practical solution.

Ironically I think this is basically the defense you would use. Sounds like the US uses radio waves. I'm guessing a high powered laser would fry the shit out of a drone. Prob more expensive, though.

also from the dailymail link above:

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The Ministry of Defence confirmed this afternoon that it has deployed 'specialist equipment' to deal with the situation after police requested help.

Officers requested soldiers to test the Army's new weapon - known as a 'Drone Dome' or 'kill-jammer' - which can 'soft kill' a drone by knocking out its communications or a 'hard kill' by shooting it down with a laser from up to two miles away. The MoD has not confirmed what it meant by 'specialist equipment'.

 

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6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Right....that's why I suggested putting the shotgunners in choppers.  I know these aren't the kind of drones you can pop from a lawn chair with a cold Lone Star in your hand.  I think the cops, even in the UK, have resources that will put them in the air to take out threats.

i was skimming the thread while on a conference call so i missed the part about the choppers.  that'd definitely work and i would think it'd actually be the easiest thing to do.  of course you could overthink things and say "what if they were expecting us to put a chopper in the air and they're waiting below us with rpgs..." but i say scramble em up and shoot em down.

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6 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

also from the dailymail link above:

 

Hah. Called it for once. 

 

3 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, mostly, it seems like a lot of fun.  I'd sign up.

Oh it sounds entertaining as hell. Probably dangerous as shit, though. 

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Maybe the drones were programmed to fly to specific coordinates, so there was nobody remote-controlling them. The thing that I don’t understand is, don’t drones have an autonomy of only minutes? Wouldn’t these four drones fall out of the sky after a little while?

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6 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

They could have certainly been guided by GPS coordinates. (Which would remove my awareness point above) It's pretty fucking creepy what they are capable of at this point. Hell, they have progammed mutliple smaller ones to flock and move like birds autonomously via remote AI.

You're sounding awful chippy today! :)

 

Jam the frequencies.  When they switch, jam those too.  This is early 20th century technological capability.

And if you're really interested, trace the transmitters to their source and engage the operators.  Again, the 1940s called and said they want their radio frequencies back.

 

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1 minute ago, BurntEyes said:

Booooooooring

I used to fly remote control planes long ago.

I want to move from real airplanes (mostly Cesna 152 and 172) to rotary at some point.

I may or may not own a FN17 which is a 308.

I may well want to buy an overpriced optic for said hypothetical rifle.

I love shooting shit.

So if I seem "chippy" it me getting a little enchubbened based on the specifics, and I won't apologize for it.

Well, as noted above there is the possibility that they're at least somewhat autonomous.  If that is the case, then they should be removed from the sky with extreme prejudice.

In other words, fire away.

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4 minutes ago, XYZ said:

But nobody answered my question: wouldn’t these things fall out of the sky after 30 minutes or however long it takes for the batteries to die?

Yes but sophisticated drones will fly to preprogrammed coordinates upon running out of power. Also, who knows how many drones these persons have. This is a coordinated effort that took some planning. 

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17 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

I'm volunteering my skills, tools, time and desire to help serve God and Country. I mean, my nerd nerve is struck and I want in on the game.

So for those about to rock, I salute you.

We have the technology...!

19 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Yes but sophisticated drones will fly to preprogrammed coordinates upon running out of power. Also, who knows how many drones these persons have. This is a coordinated effort that took some planning. 

Sure, but if the perpetrators want to recover those drones, then they pre-programmed coordinates will be out of the flight path and harm's way.  They'll also be traceable to that point.  

If the perpetrators don't care about recovering the drones, then stunning them, and rendering them harmless, is just a matter of effort.  It's a unique problem to solve, but half a dozen randos on a football message board have already offered up some potential solutions.  I tend to agree with your hypothesis that the UK authorities responding to it are likely inept.  

8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Whatever he's hearing, it's probably in a silly accent.

I'm guessing the next thing he hears will be a suggestion about obtaining a shrubbery of some sort.

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17 minutes ago, utee94 said:

We have the technology...!

Sure, but if the perpetrators want to recover those drones, then they pre-programmed coordinates will be out of the flight path and harm's way.  They'll also be traceable to that point.  

If the perpetrators don't care about recovering the drones, then stunning them, and rendering them harmless, is just a matter of effort.  It's a unique problem to solve, but half a dozen randos on a football message board have already offered up some potential solutions.  I tend to agree with your hypothesis that the UK authorities responding to it are likely inept.  

I'm guessing the next thing he hears will be a suggestion about obtaining a shrubbery of some sort.

Or maybe the UK authorities don't want to publicly discuss exactly what they have done and plan to do? 

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2 minutes ago, totallynotabuttpirate said:

Or maybe the UK authorities don't want to publicly discuss exactly what they have done and plan to do? 

Could be?  But if it's expected to last for 24 hours, then maybe the UK authorities don't know what to do and are incompetent?

 

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1 hour ago, XYZ said:

But nobody answered my question: wouldn’t these things fall out of the sky after 30 minutes or however long it takes for the batteries to die?

Most of the batteries last less than 30 minutes unless they’re modded. Following the drone home is an option but that would require some level of competence by authorities.

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Obviously airports are a no-go, but imagine the clusterfuck in 20 years when drones are flying everywhere delivering packages and doing other shit.  You're gonna have to be dodging drones while you're out walking the dog, the police will be killing people with drones if they don't put their hands up quick enough, etc.  I, for one, do not welcome our drone overlords.

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