Again , bit of a mixed bag this issue . Firstly more droning about drones ( aargh !)
Even heavyweights like the boss of Google , Eric Schmidt , is getting onto the bandwagon . He has warned drone technology proves a serious danger to global security and privacy unless an international treaty is put into place controlling the technology fast . Schmidt today said that the technology for armed unmanned planes will soon pass into the hands of terrorists posing huge security concerns across the globe . He also said that ever expanding drone technology is making smaller and cheaper models , including nano-drones , which could be used by nosy neighbors spying on each other in a dispute . He told The Guardian .. “' You ' re having a dispute with you neighbor ,' he told . ' How would you feel if your neighbor went over and bought a commercial observation drone that they can launch from their back yard . It just flies over your house all day . How would you feel about it ?'
Personally , I think the horse has well and truly bolted . There ’ s enough technology and parts slopping around the world right now to last for years , for those with evil intent . But more on that later . Here ’ s a few other developments :
Last week , Idaho ’ s Republican governor signed a law restricting the use of such pilot-less aircraft by police and other public agencies in a bid to protect privacy rights . The state now requires law enforcement to obtain warrants to collect evidence using drones following in the footsteps of Virginia , which also introduced such a measure . ' We ' re trying to prevent high-tech window-peeping ,' Idaho Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder , sponsor of the measure told Reuters .
‘ It ' s got to be regulated . It ' s one thing for governments , who have some legitimacy in what they ' re doing , but have other people doing it ... It ' s not going to happen .' He added that drone technology will become more and more normalized part of warfare . ' It ' s probable that robotics becomes a significant component of nation state warfare ,' he told the newspaper .
From the future ? “ Wired ” magazine had a whimsical spoof a little while ago , with a fanciful imaginary title from the future . “ Drone & Stream ” of March 2025 ! The teaser headlines on the cover include :
• 10 best bots for carcass recovery
• Remote Hunting apps that let you stalk game from anywhere on the planet
• Review of the Raytheon Longbow UAV
• Laser-guided hide-piercing ammo .
Could it become true ? Will I be able to hunt grizzlies from my big old easy chair in front of the fire , with my iGun 338 ? Or , will it be like Popular Mechanics endless predictions of flying cars ? Ever since I was a kid , I ’ ve hankered after one of these flying cars that were apparently just around the corner . Of course , given the mayhem I often see around the local supermarkets , my mind boggles at the thought of flying cars lining up there ! Any bets on which decade this really happen ?
More seriously , I see that the U . S . Navy is inaugurating its first squadron that mixes advanced unmanned drones with conventional aircraft . ( But the USAF already has several drone squadrons .) The maritime strike squadron , nicknamed the " Magicians ," will be officially launched at the Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado , near San Diego , and will soon be deployed on a USN littoral combat ship . Along with eight manned helicopters , the squadron will include a number of unmanned helicopter drones , known as MQ-8B Fire Scouts , that can track targets at sea or on land . The Fire Scout , built by Northrop Grumman , " has the ability to autonomously take off and land on any aviation-capable warship and at prepared and unprepared landing zones in proximity to the soldier in contact ," according to company literature . Northrop Grumman says the unmanned aerial vehicle can operate continuously for up to eight hours while providing coverage in a 125-mile radius of the launch site . Interestingly the Squadron ' s creation comes 100 years after the formation of the first Navy air detachment . So , what will the next 100 years bring ?
But back to the Domsday stuff . I find it a bit disturbing that some commentators are continually raising the bogy of terrorists getting drone technology and doing mischief . Maybe , but it ’ s my personal view that this stuff is dreaming , or wishful thinking , or scare-mongering , or raising Google ’ s profile , or some other cunning little plan .
Why ? Simple . All the very “ best ” terrorist plans have strictly used the KISS principle .
Ie . In 1995 Timothy McVeigh simply used a concrete mixer to mix a couple of tons of fertilizer and nitromethane , ( Yes , same as we use in “ Nitro ” engines ) put it in a truck , parked it outside the federal building , lit a slow “ firework ” fuse in a detonator and a small booster , and walked away smartly .
On Sept 11 2001 , they simply used airline tickets and 69c boxcutters from Wal-Mart .
The two recent Tsarnaev loonies in Boston , bought about 3 pounds of black powder from a fireworks shop in New Hampshire and a $ 19.95 pressure cooker or two from Wal- Mart . Too challenged to find a fireworks shop ? Well any halfsmart 12 year old will show you how to DIY . I was amused to see a media laddette express shock at how incredibly simple that seemed to be . Nothing new there . Just this last ANZAC day I was thinking of an old family friend who was at Gallipoli . I recall as a teenager he told me a few things about the horrors there , disease and flies were rife , but food was not too scarce , and it all came in good-sized tins . So , they used to while away the hours by repackaging the tins with stones , bits of metal , and gunpowder , put a short fuse in it , and lob it into the Turkish lines , often only feet away .
It ’ s a sideline , but what amazed me , was that the Tsarnaev family , including the suspected terrorists and their parents , benefited from more than $ 100,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance — a bonanza ranging from cash and food stamps to housing help from 2002 to 2012 , That is astounding beyond my comprehension .