Tag: drones

NYC Expands Use Of Drones To Respond To Crimes

The New York Police Department has launched a new program that will send drones zipping to emergency scenes before officers can get there.

Two drones will be stationed at each of five NYPD station houses, including the one that oversees the 843 acres of Manhattan’s iconic Central Park. Three precincts in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx will also be getting the drones as part of the “Drone as First Responder” initiative.

“New York City is flying into the future as we keep New Yorkers safe,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Wednesday. “These drones will mean more efficient policing and will help increase the safety of our responding NYPD officers and New Yorkers.”

The drones will be deployed remotely and programmed to autonomously fly to the exact longitude and latitude of emergencies, including missing-person searches, alerts from the NYPD’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system and crimes in progress, according to the mayor’s office.

Once a drone arrives at the scene, an NYPD drone pilot at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan or another location will take control of the device. High-resolution cameras equipped with night vision technology and high-definition audio microphones will allow pilots to assess situations and send live feeds to the smartphones of officers and supervisors on the ground.

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‘Record number’ of resistance drone attacks target Israel in November

About 1,300 drones were launched against Israel between 1 and 13 November in at least 40 different attacks from the different factions of the Resistance Axis, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 News.

Noting that drone attacks have become “a routine matter,” the Hebrew broadcaster said the army recorded a rate of 3.3 drone attacks per day since the end of October. This is a marked spike from the rate of 2.77 daily attacks in October and two per day in September when Tel Aviv expanded its war against Lebanon.

Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has launched daily drone attacks against Israel for the past several weeks, sparking chaos in the northern city of Haifa and reaching targets as far as 145 kilometers deep.

On Thursday night, a drone exploded in the Eliakim area near Haifa, where Hezbollah says its forces targeted the “Eliakim base, which houses training camps under the Israeli army’s Northern Command … with a squadron of attack drones,  achieving precise hits.”

Footage shared on social media shows another drone continuing toward Tel Aviv. 

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Massive Chinese Anti-Drone High-Power Microwave Weapon Emerges

Ahuge truck-mounted system is one of at least three large mobile ground-based high-power microwave directed energy weapons, primarily intended to down drones, at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow. This underscores a global explosion of demand for counter-drone capabilities, as well as China’s steady progress in the development, fielding, and exporting of microwave and laser directed energy weapons.

Officially known as the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, the Zhuhai Airshow also provides an opportunity for Chinese and foreign companies to showcase ground-based and maritime offerings. Pictures and videos of various aircraft and other systems have been steadily emerging ahead of the event’s formal opening next week.

The imagery that has appeared online already amid the Zhuhai preparations includes a promotional video from state-run firms China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and Norinco that features footage of two high-power microwave directed energy weapons, as well as other air defense systems.

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Maps Show ‘Multiple Incursions’ of Mystery Drones near US Military Sites

The U.S. military observed drones making “multiple incursions” late last year over or near sensitive military sights, including an air force base, with national and local officials still unable to produce an explanation for violations of heavily monitored airspace.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that mysterious uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been spotted around the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, shortly after sunset during a period of more than two weeks.

One senior official based at Langley told The Journal that multiple drones headed across Chesapeake Bay and further south toward the city of Norfolk. They reportedly traveled across the main base for the Navy’s lauded SEAL Team Six and Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval port.

The Langley base first saw the drones on the evening of December 6, and then “experienced multiple incursions throughout the month of December,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

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UAV Targets Israeli Prime Minister’s Residence – Reportedly Gives Israel Green Light To Attack Iranian Leaders Residence In Tehran

Today, reports from Israel indicate a UAV hit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence. No one was there and he was not injured. However, reports from Israel describe the incident as giving the IDF the legitimacy to attack the leader of Iran’s residence in Tehran.

This morning, three UAVs  crossed into Israel from Lebanon. Two of them were intercepted. Another aircraft hit a building in Caesarea without activating an alarm. As a result of the incident, alerts were activated in the Glilot base near Tel Aviv only. The IDF stated that the incident is being investigated, reported Amir Tsarfati.

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Drone swarms targeting US military bases are operated by ‘mother ship’ UFO, claims top Pentagon official

A retired, senior Pentagon official has confirmed that UFO ‘mother ships’ were spotted ‘releasing swarms of smaller craft’ — adding further mystery to the still-unexplained intrusions over multiple US military bases.

His statements come amid the release of 50 pages of Air Force records related to provocative ‘drone’ incursions, that one general calls ‘Close Encounters at Langley.’

For at least 17 nights last December, swarms of noisy, small UFOs were seen at dusk ‘moving at rapid speeds’ and displaying ‘flashing red, green, and white lights’ penetrating the highly restricted airspace above Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Senior ex-Pentagon security official Chris Mellon told DailyMail.com that the episode was ‘part of a much larger pattern affecting numerous national security installations.’

‘Two of the notable aspects,’ he said, ‘are the fact our drone signal-jamming devices have proven ineffective and these craft are making no effort to remain concealed.’

‘In fact, in some instances,’ as Mellon took pains to emphasize, ‘it is clear they want to be seen as though taunting us.’

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Mysterious Drone Fleet Breaches U.S. Military Airspace for 17 CONSECUTIVE DAYS!

For 17 consecutive nights, a squadron of mysterious drones breached the airspace over Langley Air Force Base, home to some of America’s most advanced military assets.

Despite the base’s state-of-the-art defenses, military personnel were left perplexed and concerned, watching each night as the drones crossed Virginia’s restricted airspace without deterrent.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the bizarre drone activity has left military commanders, including U.S. Air Force General Mark Kelly, scratching their heads. Kelly watched in disbelief as drones zoomed across the night sky at more than 100 miles per hour.

These aircraft flew over restricted zones, even passing near Navy SEAL Team Six’s home base and Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval port in the world. Yet, despite their frequency and proximity to these high-value targets, no action was taken.

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UFO drones are surveilling America’s most sensitive military sites — and the Pentagon says it can’t stop them

Fleets of dozens of mysterious UFO drones are surveilling America’s most sensitive military sites, and the Pentagon admits it can’t do much to stop the aerial intruders, according to a new report.

Drones of unknown origin have been spotted flying over military bases in Virginia and Nevada over the past year, including the secret base for the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six commando unit and Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval port, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Federal laws, however, prohibit the military from shooting down the drones over the potential risks to troops and civilians.

Jamming their signals was also ruled out in high level White House meetings, according to the Journal — over concerns that it could interfere with 911 systems, WiFi network and commercial airliners.

The result is that the Pentagon has little recourse to halt the potential surveillance from foreign adversaries.

Former US Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly was first made aware of the drone sightings in December 2023, where officials at the Langley Air Force Base along the Virginia coast reported seeing dozens of drones flying over the base at night, according to the WSJ.

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Drones Penetrate North Korean Air Defenses To Drop Propaganda Leaflets On Pyongyang

North Korea has accused South Korea of using drones to scatter propaganda leaflets over its capital, Pyongyang. The incident today comes after waves of excrement and trash-filled balloons launched by North Korea into the South, which started this summer, and during a period of overall worsening tensions on the peninsula overall.

Photos released by the North Korean state news agency KCNA are of fairly poor quality, but appear to show triangular objects, perhaps broadly similar in configuration to the Israeli Harop long-range one-way attack drone. Other views suggest not so much a delta-wing platform as a swept-winged one, reminiscent of the U.S.-made ScanEagle long-endurance, low-altitude drone. It could also be the case that a variety of different drones were used for the airdrop mission.

These drones, in turn, are shown seemingly releasing small objects. The news agency describes these objects as “scattered leaflets,” or as “bundles of leaflets.”

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Protective Nets To Shield F-22s Eyed For Airbase Swarmed By Mystery Drones

U.S. Air Force officials at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia are looking at installing anti-drone nets to help protect F-22 Raptor stealth fighters on the flightline. This comes nearly a year after the base was subjected to waves of still-mysterious drone incursions, which The War Zone was first to report. It also underscores the U.S. military’s continued lag when it comes to responding to the very real threats posed by uncrewed aerial systems, at home and aboard, and particular hurdles to doing so domestically.

Langley’s 633rd Contracting Squadron put out a notice on October 4 asking for information about potential counter-drone netting that could be installed around up to 42 existing open-ended sunshade-type shelters at the base. Langley, now technically part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, is one of a select few bases to host F-22s and is a key component of the Air Force’s posture to defend the U.S. homeland.

The 633rd “is in the process of determining the acquisition strategy to obtain non-personal services for the Unmanned Ariel Services (UAS) Netting for East Ramp Metal Sunshades,” according to the contracting notice. “The intention of the netting is to deter and ultimately prevent the intrusion of UAS’s near airmen and aircraft. This initial sunshade netting installation on the metal sunshade (bay Alpha 1) shall serve as a proof of concept for the remaining sunshades.”

The “netting should be capable of disabling a Group 1/ “Small” Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), such as the DJI Matrice 300 RTK, while remaining attached,” the notice explains. Per the U.S. military’s definitions, drones in Group 1 can have weights of up to 20 pounds, fly up to 1,200 feet, and reach speeds of up to 100 knots.

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