WHEN DRONES GO BAD THE YEAR IN REVIEW

Unfortunately, not everyone who comes up with a new use for drones has the betterment of humanity—or even legal profits—as their top priority. Criminals and terrorists can be innovators, too. In this final report for 2021, through RotorDrone Pro’s partnership with DroneSec, we are going to take a step back from reviewing individual instances when drones go bad and instead look at the new trends that have emerged over the past year.

Patrick Sherman

DECEPTION Canaries. First among these is the use of small drones as canaries, not as robotic replacements for domesticated songbirds, but rather in the sense of being “a canary in a coal mine.” Until the mid-1980s, it was common practice for miners to bring a canary with them underground. Being more sensitive than humans to the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide gas, the bird’s abrupt silence was a signal to the miners that they needed to evacuate immediately. The drones flown as canaries today serve a similar function: The would-be aerial trespasser sends out a small, cheap drone ahead of a larger aircraft, which will carry contraband. Its mission is to test for the presence counteruncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) defenses. If the small drone is jammed, intercepted or exhibits strange…

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RotorDrone Pro (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2021 - January 2022

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