3D-Printed Military Drone Takes Flight

An update to the military mission of producing 3D-printed drones

Nicholas West

3D printing offers a range of potential benefits and open-source solutions to free humanity from centralized corporate and police state shackles. Naturally, the good elements are being fought tooth-and-nail, while the aberrant forms are brought to us by the military-industrial complex as an essential security solution.

3D-printed military drones are now being explored, with some successes already being reported. In May of last year, Robo Raven (discussed below) was announced which incorporates 3D-printed components to produce independently flapping wings.

Now the Department of Defense has provided funding to the University of Virginia to develop the first fully 3D-printed UAV called the The Razor that can be created in less than a day with off-the-shelf parts and a smartphone running a customized flight-control app.

Terror as a Career Opportunity

Dees Illustration

Tom McNamara

While the “Great Recession” of 2008 technically ended in the summer of 2009, it appears that only now is the US economy starting to achieve sustainable, if tepid, growth. But this recovery has clearly been one of the weakest in terms of job creation. U6, an alternative measurement of unemployment (measuring the total number of people out of work, plus people who are working part time not by choice, plus people who are only marginally attached to the labor force), still stands stubbornly at 14%.

And for those lucky enough to have found a job, exactly what kind of work have they found? Unfortunately, the picture isn’t pretty. A study done by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) tells us that most of the jobs lost during the Great Recession were what could be considered as mid-wage occupations. Their replacements? Most of the new jobs created have been mainly lower-wage service jobs. The US Census Bureau gives us even bleaker news, telling us that 25% of American jobs pay below the federal poverty line for a family of four ($23,050) and that one-third of adults who live in poverty also work. More troubling still, adjusted for inflation, the average male made less in 2011 than he did in 1968 ($32,986 in 2011 vs. $33,880 in 1968).

So what exactly is a young “go getter” who is looking to make it in this world supposed to do? How about becoming a drone pilot?

Domestic Drone Industry Booms

Activist Post

The drone arms race has gone global. But inside the United States, a study by the Association For Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) showed why drone proliferation continues to ramp up at a nearly exponential rate: it has become one of the fastest growing areas of the U.S. economy. A report entitled, "The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the United States" is clear in its conclusion that competition for jobs and tax dollars created by drone tech development is likely to provide the impetus to loosen state regulations on drone use. The AUVSI latest projection is that well over 100,00 new jobs will be created in the first years of full integration.

Of course the AUVSI has a vested interest in promoting drone use despite the organization's "non-profit" status. From their About Us page they don't hide their goals and connections:

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International is the world's largest non-profit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community. Serving more than 7,500 members from government organizations, industry and academia, AUVSI is committed to fostering, developing, and promoting unmanned systems and robotic technologies. AUVSI members support defense, civil and commercial sectors. (Read full mission statement and their goals for the world HERE)

As RT reports below: "More than 7,000 people descended on DC for the 2013 AUVSI conference . . . Alongside were states like Idaho, North Dakota and Arizona, welcoming these flying bots to their airspace with open arms and open coffers."



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The Evolution of Autonomous Drones 

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The Evolution of Autonomous Drones

image source

Activist Post

The use of drones has now become common knowledge to the extent that they are being embraced in a number of commercial applications such as real estate, media (paparazzi), and delivering pizzas (once regulators give clearance.) One enthusiast even delivered the rings to his brother's wedding. Everyone in attendance reportedly thought "it was pretty awesome." (Source)

National Geographic recently even pointed out some positive uses beyond the military for micro-drones such as hurricane hunting, 3-D mapping, search and rescue, agriculture and protecting wildlife. (source)

However, drones continue to evolve in tandem with advancements in robotics and computing toward some very hands-off applications. Instead of a glorified remote-controlled hobby craft, drones are becoming autonomous both in flight and decision making.

To be sure, the evolution of drones toward full autonomy is a stated goal by the military, which has been working for some time on implementing a true Terminator-like Skynet Global Digital Defense Network.

Scare Tactics: Family Misled by Local Cops During Questioning About Google Searches

Daisy Luther

As it turns out, there is more to the story about the anti-terrorism task force’s visit to the family who was suspiciously Googling backpacks and pressure cookers.

The Google searches were the basis for the visit, but the former employer of Michelle Catalano’s husband was the person who put the searches together and thought, “Wow, these people must be terrorists.”

It also seems, according to Catalano’s clarification, that the men who searched the home and questioned her husband, wanted the family to believe that they had this omnipotent power to catalog their searches.

Introducing "Drone Patrol" Website and Apps

Activist Post

There’s a new trend in surveillance and that trend involves drones in our skies. Many have seen them, but most don’t report them. Why not? It’s because until recently, there has been nowhere to report these sightings. The FBI recently admitted to using drones to spy on US citizens. Are you one of them?

Have a drone sighting?

The Sleuth Journal, in association with Staticwave Studio has just launched a new site called Drone Patrol where you can report drone sightings and read others’ encounters of their sightings. Like the MUFON for drones, it allows you to add images, video and location, as well as details of your sighting. You can also access the site by clicking on “drone patrol” at the top of our main site.

Update: FAA Responds To Drone Hunting: “Could Result in Criminal or Civil Liability”

Mac Slavo

In response to overwhelming public support for a new ordinance in the small Colorado town of Deer Trail, which would issue hunting licenses and bounties for shooting down unmanned aerial vehicles, the Federal Aviation Administration has warned that penalties for those who engage drones could be severe.

The FAA released a statement in response to questions about an ordinance under consideration in the tiny farming community of Deer Trail, Colo., that would encourage hunters to shoot down drones. The administration reminded the public that it regulates the nation’s airspace, including the airspace over cities and towns. 

A drone “hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air,” the statement said. “Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane.”-- AP

Phillip Steel, who authored the original proposal in Deer Trail, Colorado says his ordinance is a “pre-emptive strike” against what he calls a “virtual prison” being created through continued expansion of the surveillance state.

Town To Issue Licenses and Bounties To Shoot Down Drones: “They Fly In Town, They Get Shot Down”

proper drone hunting technique

Mac Slavo

The President, Congress and the Department of Homeland Security may think it’s legal to spy on the Land of the Free by deploying thousands of drones over the skies of America, but the residents of Deer Trail, Colorado have a different idea.

Not only are they set to vote on hunting licenses authorizing the shoot-down of unmanned aerial vehicles hovering over their town, but they’ll be issued a $100 bounty if they can prove they did it:

Weaponized Drones on American Soil?

image source

Nicholas West

People were shocked in 2007 when Texas news KPRC revealed that local police were conducting drone tests on American soil. Some cried "conspiracy theory" even as further revelations quickly showed that a full program had been established with Customs and Border Protection as far back as 2004. Drone flights took advantage of the 100-mile-wide "Constitution-free Zone" around the perimeter of the United States within which drones were permitted to operate for border security -- two-thirds of the U.S. population happens to reside within this area.

The targeted killing of American citizens abroad jarred people enough to consider the "mission creep" taking place, finally wondering when strikes might land on American soil. Rand Paul pushed this "debate" into the mainstream with his much-publicized filibuster, though he later backed down by hedging his words within the definition of "imminent threat." Paul's comments drew severe criticism even from libertarians, prompting him to explain further. It's an important distinction to make clear, and is the same one left unresolved by the amendment to ban drone strikes on U.S. citizens in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act.

So while it seems like a fierce debate is taking place, and plans to subvert the Constitution are being thwarted, every new stone overturned continues to reveal more. Rather than true debate, there has been a scramble for the public to catch up to what already has been done, much in the same way as the NSA spying story. So, what will the future bring?

Why Won’t The FBI Tell the Public About its Drone Program?

Jennifer Lynch
EFF

Today we’re publishing—for the first time—the FBI’s drone licenses and supporting records for the last several years. Unfortunately, to say that the FBI has been less than forthcoming with these records would be a gross understatement.

Just yesterday, Wired broke the story that the FBI has been using drones to surveil Americans. Wired noted that, during an FBI oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Robert Mueller let slip that the FBI flies surveillance drones on American soil. Mueller tried to reassure the senators that FBI’s drone program “is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized leads.” However, there’s no way to check the Director on these statements, given the Bureau’s extreme lack of transparency about its program.

EFF received these records as a result of our Freedom of Information lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the licenses the FAA issues to all public entities wishing to fly drones in the national airspace. As detailed in prior posts and on our drone map, we have already received tens of thousands of pages of valuable information about local, state and federal agencies’ drone flights.

However, unlike other federal agencies, including the US Air Force, the Bureau has withheld almost all information within its documents—even including the dates the FAA’s Certificates of Authorization (COAs) were issued.

Database Your Face: Drones to Employ Facial Recognition, Ending Anonymity

image source

Nicholas West

In a matter of just a few years, we have gone from drones in American skies being a conspiracy theory, to drones being openly debated by Congress for full deployment over the U.S. by 2015. However, you know things have gone to a new level when establishment media begins covering the full range of privacy-ending capabilities employed by drones matched with biometric databases ... inside America.

A recent Associated Press article, reposted at major corporate media sites such as Business Insider, surprisingly grasps the near totality of what is being planned in much the same way as we have been covering in the alternative media for some time.

Entitled, "Drones With Facial Recognition Technology Will End Anonymity, Everywhere," we are presented with this news as a statement, not a question. 

House Judiciary Committee drone hearing: one step closer to legislation restricting drone use

Chris Calabrese of the ACLU
delivers his testimony 

Madison Ruppert

The House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing yesterday examining the privacy implications of allowing aerial drones into domestic airspace, setting the stage for potential legislation restricting the use of drones.

While drones are already used across the U.S. by more entities than we know, by 2015 the airspace will be opened up to much more widespread use. That said, local law enforcement agencies, Customs and Border Protection, National Guard units, U.S. Marshals, the military, private entities, colleges and many more have already flown or are planning to fly drones domestically.

During the hearing, the participants referred to H.R. 637 introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas). Poe previously said that the Judiciary Committee could move to limit drone use and that it is looking increasingly likely.

Robo Raven: New 3D-Printed Drone Mimics Nature

Nicholas West

The march toward developing drones that mimic nature continues unabated. Robobee has received a lot of attention lately for taking flight as a possible replacement pollinator for the declining natural bee population, while also offering the dual-use swarm surveillance and weapons' capabilities sought after by the military.

The latest drone to come out of development utilizes 3D-printed components to produce a first of its kind: independently flapping wings. So effective is its mimicry, that product developers documented Robo Raven being attacked by a real hawk in the promo video below from Maryland Robotics Center:

It is the independently flapping wings enabled by 3D fabrication of its overall structure that offer this stunning level of drone evolution:

Virginia Senate committee backs two-year moratorium on government and law enforcement drones

Madison Ruppert, Contributor

According to reports, a Virginia Senate committee has approved a two-year moratorium on drone use by both law enforcement and government agencies as drones continue to be used in the U.S. and will be used abroad indefinitely. 

This move is especially interesting given that the Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell called drone use in the state“great” and “the right thing to do,” citing the supposed success of drones in warzones. 

While it might be somewhat surprising, there is currently a legislative push against the unrestricted use of drones at both the state and federal levels. How successful these efforts will be remains to be seen. 

The measure in Virginia was approved by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and according to the Associated Press is similar to one pending in the Virginia House of Delegates. 

However, this is not an outright ban by any means.

Demanding Answers About Predator Drone Flights in The United States

Government Shares Drones with Law Enforcement Agencies Across the Country

image source

Electronic Frontier Foundation

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tuesday, demanding answers about how and why it loans out its Predator drones to other law enforcement agencies across the country. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – a division of DHS – uses the unmanned drones inside the U.S. to patrol the borders with surveillance equipment like video cameras, infrared cameras, heat sensors, and radar. But recent news articles as well as a report from DHS itself show CBP is expanding its surveillance work, flying Predator drone missions on behalf of a diverse group of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies – including a county sheriff's department in North Dakota, the Texas Rangers, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Defense. 

Congress Welcomes Drones Into American Skies ASAP

Source

Michael Edwards

Activist Post

The stage has already been set and played upon for divisions of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to patrol and strike undeclared war zones abroad.

Even though lip service has been paid to express minor outrage over villages bombed in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, or someplace "over there," there has been relatively little true outrage by countries heretofore unaffected by computer bombing raids upon their own Homeland -- countries like America.

Well, seeing is believing they say.

Americans are next in line to get their chance to see firsthand what has been happening overseas -- a close-up view of what takes place on computer screens in Tel Aviv or Las Vegas.

The Boomerang Effect has taken flight.

The treason of American Congress seems to know no bounds, as it has submitted an urgent official request to the Secretary of Transportation to invite potential remote-controlled war upon American soil by integrating Unmanned Aerial Systems into civilian airspace to be overseen by the FAA. (Source)