There has been a lot of buzz in the news regarding drones, not much of it positive. When recent fires raged in California, firefighting airplanes were in danger of striking drones, which prevented the fire from being put out sooner, resulting in excessive damage. There was also a story of a man shooting down a drone that was spying on his daughter. These stories have left many of us looking for ways to bring down drones.
Begun the Drone War has
Laws haven’t caught up to the drone problem, but they will. Even with laws in place, there’s no guarantee rogue pilots won’t continue to operate ignoring regulations. How far would these pilots go? We recently saw a user adding a gun to his drone, which brings up the specter of terrorism at the hands of a drone controller. Another recent story showed ISIS plans to use drones in its future attacks. Just another reason for us to think about how we should handle drones.
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Shoot it Down with a Shotgun
First things first, I don’t advocate shooting down drones. Remember, what goes up must come down. If you’re shooting straight up with a gun, not only are you endangering your life but also the lives of those near you. So this is outright a bad idea. Shooting down a drone will probably get you arrested.
Use Water!
To take a drone down you have to factor in how high it is flying and what you have available that can reach it. A close flying drone could easily be shot down with a high pressure hose. This method is limited to those in a 20 foot radius of the drone. Again this is destruction of property, and probably more illegal then the drone’s mischief in the first place.
Higher Tech Solutions May be Needed:
Signal Jamming Technologies
While this can stop a drone, it will probably affect any other cellular signal around you, and that might get the attention of the FCC. Not to mention annoy your neighbors.
Directed Energy Weapons
Weapons like microwave rays might be able to bring down that drone, but these are mainly in the hands of military. While it’s probably safer than a gun to operate, invisible painful waves might not be too friendly especially if you forget it’s on.
Lasers, Pew, Pew!
Green lasers can overwhelm the camera sensor and cause damage, but this isn’t an instant win. Realistically a row of pixels on the drone’s camera sensor might be toast. You would be in really bad trouble if you miss that drone and hit an airplane above it.
Fight Fire with Fire
Unfortunately these methods we covered will probably be too costly, dangerous or simply illegal to implement. So I go with the best weapon. Get your own drone and prepare for an old-fashioned dogfight. Preferably you’d want a cheaper drone. One that could banzai right into it or, if you’re a good pilot, you could tie on string so you can attempt to foul the propellers of the invading forces.
Maybe Not All Drones are Bad
There is a lot of fun to be had with your own drone, and they don’t have to be used for evil. There are plenty of fun ways to use a drone, such as racing or getting that perfect shot for a movie. Sure they may be a few bad apples out there, but the average drone operator isn’t a terrorist or peeping tom. Chances are drone pilots have the same good intentions you do. Embrace the freedoms of this new form of fun rather than prevent it.
Do you own a drone? How do you feel about drones flying in your own backyard? Let us know in the comments below.
