Secret Service Recovers Small Drone at White House

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud

Flight of the RoboBee: Flying Robot Insect As Small As A Penny

a reply to: Grimpachi

Yeah, they probably jammed it.

Very strange story all around.

You can pretty much bet if there wasn't any sort of ECM plan in place to stop this happening then there certainly is one now.

One that size could easily carry a lb or two of HE. Or a canister of VX. Getting it anywhere near the man in question would have been more difficult. I'm going with an outside contract or directive to test if this could be possible to pull off. In this day and age the security services are thinking more and more outside the box.

How ironic would it be if he was killed in a drone strike?

originally posted by: vonclod
a reply to: Jakal26
Look up FPS Russian on youtube..he has a drone with a light smg on it, have no doubt its very possible, the technology is there..even in the hobby industry. With UHF or it might be VHF radios you can fly for miles via a camera and gps.
I actually find it somewhat amusing with the way the U.S. govt uses drones to do bad things to its citizens.

That was a crazy video and you want to believe its fake because its so awesome and devastating. The Russians entire channel is all videos about weaponry so I'm inclined to believe it. Looking at the drone I don't understand how it's fires those rounds but what do I know. The ending where the drone becomes a suicide bomber is disturbing.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Definitely strange but good luck trying to figure some people out!

If I had a drone or RC copter flying at night would not be an option for the sheer simple fact of little visibility.

Now one of these on the other hand....

a reply to: Swills

Here is what the Secret Service needs to be thinking in terms of..... some lone wolf applying that tech to an overseas Presidential visit or even just a domestic speaking appearance.

We're talking Heisenberg levels of diabolical genius.

I suspect we will be hearing about more Secret Service shake ups soon.

a reply to: kosmicjack

They are. This government is very concerned about lone wolves and domestic terrorism.

a reply to: Swills

That one honestly looked like CGI. I could be wrong, but it just didn't look right o me.

a reply to: Grimpachi

That seems to be the common suspect, CGI. Could be.

So they figured out that the wh has a jamming fq. around the perimeter and that their phones and such do not operate on normal freq. How would this benefit them? Now they know the specific height to fly the drone in order to get to land in the middle next time. Just a little faster and a little higher. I guess next we will see the equalivent of that navy laser on top of the whitehouse as even more dangerous freq. are being transmitted to intercept smaller craft now. Either way it is not good for the residents. Either suffer the chance of an attack or get cancer faster.

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: Grimpachi



That seems to be the common suspect, CGI. Could be.

I think you guys are correct it probably is CGI(the gunfire), pretty dangerous to have live rounds in that type of situation..might not even be a real weapon underneath but I think it shows the possibilities..just a matter of the right voltage with the right motors to provide enough lift for whatever payload.

a reply to: Swills

He's actually an American who pretends to be Russian...

And from what I gather, he's real...

It won't be long before their banned.

That is the modus operandi of 'scared' people who hide behind bulletproof glass, and concrete.

Yeah them plastic little 'drones' what people use to call rc toys'.

Is really dangerous!!!!!

Let's stop beating around the bush now people.

Let's just cut to the chase.

Ban DRONES!.

End sarcasm.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: Jakal26
What type of weapon that could be plastered on one of these tiny drones would be a "threat potential" anyways?

A baggie of anthrax or other biological agent crashing into the window of the White House or flown through the open front door in the summer.

You do know there is a NBC sensor suite around the white house right ?

Then there is it's bunker?

Hell the only thing they need to add is something like this:

spotterrf.com...

People, and rc toys.

Doesn't matter.

a reply to: MystikMushroom
The only thing that might be CGI is the gunfire.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

He's an American who pretends to be Russian but he's real

So you're saying his drone was real?

Perhaps by saying that it "posed no threat" they simply meant that the particular drone posed no threat, as opposed to meaning that drones were not a threat themselves. That is what I took it to mean anyway, that the recovered drone was not dangerous in any way. Drones are only a minor threat in my opinion. Military drones are capable of carrying payloads that might be dangerous if used against the White House, and I'm sure a civilian could get their hands on a pretty powerful drone...but most people cannot. The drones available to most people would not be capable of carrying large munitions. People forget that a small explosion is not going to do anything to the White House. Sure, the WH looks undefended and weak from the outside, like any other building or house, but it is specially protected from a variety of potential threats. The outside of the building is much stronger than a conventional building, and is much stronger than it looks from the outside.

My point is that it would take military-grade missiles or bombs to actually penetrate and cause loss of life. It would probably be just as hard for someone to get their hands on such weapons as it would be for them to get a drone capable of carrying such a payload. The larger drones, the ones capable of carrying larger munitions, can also be picked up on radar. They probably would be seen approaching as well. I am not sure that such a craft could be shot down in time to make any difference, but if it is large enough it would probably be spotted with enough time to take action. It would not be as if it could fly a great distance while hugging the ground, in an attempt to evade electronic detection, as it would be visually spotted. And that means that its payload would also be spotted, and the threat would be known relatively quickly. A smaller drone could definitely get through without being detected, as evidenced by the event in question, but such a small craft cannot carry enough explosives to penetrate the White House, much less pose a serious risk to the persons inside. The most vulnerable portions would be the windows, even though they are bulletproof. Anyway, so the main reason a drone is not a threat is because very few people could ever get their hands on the hardware necessary to carry out such an attack. And even the more vulnerable windows would likely be strong enough to withstand a homemade explosive device attached to a drone. Believe it or not the security at the White House is pretty good. The building has been modified numerous times to protect it from an ever-growing number of threats. As it should be.

The FPS Russian guy has been known to stage things and do some Hollywood style pyrotechnic fakery, so I wouldn't take his example as being 100% representative. However the tech to mount a weapon on an RC craft has been around for a couple years already. And we know governments already do this with their much bigger "toys".

This is more the real deal, even if its a relatively old example...


I could see something much smaller still doing the same kind of thing, if setup with a solenoid operated pistol reciever. However there probably is ECM jamming type stuff that limits how close one could operate something like this on actual Whitehouse grounds or other secured locations. Thus getting up close is probably unlikely to work.

Yet a smallish scratch-built drone like that could pose a threat if it gets a line of sight from nearby airspace that isn't all that secure and outside of jamming range. There probably are some sniper drones out there they don't want the public to know about. (Pokes a large hole in existing security theatre around VIPs.) The tech to do it exists (in the public domain even), just a matter of putting pieces together and getting it to work.

Thing is, this White House drone fiasco is probably intended to make things more diffiucult for people with toys that don't mean any harm. There already are some issues with the FAA and FPV hobbyists out there, and contention over whether there should be bans or restrictions/regulations in place. I'm sure there are people that would like a convenient excuse for the government to clamp down on things. (However legislation or regulation wont stop anyone that's really determined, they'll just hack stuff together from various spare parts, use pre-ban materials, and fabricate whatever else they need, etc.)

originally posted by: Vasa Croe

originally posted by: cArLoSCuBsTaR
When I was a kid we used to call drones "RC Toys". Maybe if we carried on calling them toys then people wouldn't piss in their pants when theres a report of one being found on a lawn.

Questions like what if it had a camera or explosives are ridiculous. You sound like little girls. Strap your head back on and pay attention. You're being manipulated. If it was a true threat, you wouldn't hear about it

Actually most drones/RC Toys that fly these days DO have camera's, or have the optional equipment to mount them as you can see from the thousands of YT videos loaded with cameras from a drone.

You sound like an uninformed poster...strap your head back on and maybe research a bit before making statement than can easily be proven false.

Haha! Yes I know, I have several. By ridiculous I mean crazy speculation. We're talking about a toy flown by somebody for fun. You lot all jump on the "what about isis/lone wolf/terrorists doing this! Oh my! Puuurlleeeeese save us from ourselves!"

Maybe your so scared because your country does this to others so you know it's only a matter of time before its done to you. Or maybe it already has? (Dare I mention 9/11?) and you know what else? A toy with anthrax or a dirty bomb or hx landing on that bastion of bastards will do the world a damn favour. What you so scared of? Take out the turds, elect some more. What difference would it make?

But so long as your scared and speculating, I guess that's all that matters. I've got a clean pair of pants if you need them

originally posted by: kosmicjack
abc13.com...

WASHINGTON, DC --

A device, possibly an unmanned aerial drone, was found on the White House grounds during the middle of the night while President Barack Obama and the first lady were in India, but his spokesman said Monday that it posed no threat.

No threat, really? That's some crazy hubris right there.

What about the potential of a small explosive device or chemical/biological weapons? Can these small drones even be detected and defended against?


money.cnn.com...


At this point one has to wonder how useful/relevant the Secret Service is anymore, given all of their numerous scandals and now this.

To be fair, they were probably (they were) referring to this particular drone. As it had no capabilities to attack anyone, it didn't pose the kind of threat you're speculation mentions.