20' long, 100mph drone fleet; weeks; over Langley, Norfolk Dec2023

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Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
This happened last year.

Presumably, the agency demonstrating drone penetration over secure sites has proved their point.

The sites have documented that they had the means to shoot down the drones, but no desire to clutter up the local streets with wreckage.

I suspect that I know which airport they used for undetected launch, and recovery of the drones.
 
Thanks for the article NoHeat - helpful.

(I’d thought by posting the date in the title would make the timeline clear to everyone, ah well)
 
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...Federal law prohibits the military from shooting down drones near military bases in the U.S. unless they pose an imminent threat...
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One doesn't know if they pose an imminent threat until they explode or release chemical/biological agents. Seems a little late to react.

...shooting down suspicious aircraft over the U.S. risks disrupting or endangering the lives of Americans the military is sworn to protect...
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...The drones headed south, across Chesapeake Bay...
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So, shoot them down over the water. Strafing from above would put the rounds in the water. The F-22 still possesses a 20 mm Gatling gun.
 
Helicopter with a couple of marines with 12 guage shoguns. Fly up close, and cripple the quad or fixed wing. #2 shot is harmless as it falls to the ground, but at 50 feet, will pass through a Cessna fuselage or wing.

Fixed wing should be addressed over the bay, or ocean.
 
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Domenick said:
One doesn't know if they pose an imminent threat until they explode or release chemical/biological agents. Seems a little late to react.

So, shoot them down over the water. Strafing from above would put the rounds in the water. The F-22 still possesses a 20 mm Gatling gun.
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I question how well the F-22 could acquire and track such small, low-speed targets flying close to the surface. Especially if the drone operator knows they're coming.

Maybe they'll have fake cockpits painted on their bellies, like my Fly Baby.

Geezer's suggestion of marines in helicopters with shotguns makes a lot more sense, but we don't have those on standby alert.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
I question how well the F-22 could acquire and track such small, low-speed targets flying close to the surface. Especially if the drone operator knows they're coming.

Maybe they'll have fake cockpits painted on their bellies, like my Fly Baby.
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Maybe it was a fleet of Fly Babies! The so-called drones were described as about 20' long, 100 mph, sounds about right. So, umm, if you don't mind me asking, where was yours in mid-December?
 
I figured that after Hughes landed the gyrocopter on the Capital lawn a few years ago, they would have solved the issue of low & slow threats - apparently not.

Seems like they are damn good at catching any of us (light GA) transiting their airspace.
 
Geezer's suggestion of marines in helicopters with shotguns makes a lot more sense, but we don't have those on standby alert.

Ron Wanttaja

The helicopters should have been on the alert the second night.......or at least the third.
 
Domenick said:
So, shoot them down over the water. Strafing from above would put the rounds in the water. The F-22 still possesses a 20 mm Gatling gun.
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At night, low altitude with unknown friendlies below... non-starter.

Helicopters or many other platforms are a much better fit. This isn't a job for a fighter.
 
According to this, a single button press knocks drones right out of the sky:

(I have a feeling we could have done more, but it would have put civilians at risk.)


 
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I wonder if it could be a white hat operation to point out or test our vulnerability to such actions?
 
kyleb said:
I wonder if it could be a white hat operation to point out or test our vulnerability to such actions?
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Most likely explanation, I think. East coast event happened almost a year ago, and some similar events are reported at other locations. Seems like the military would have totally freaked out after the first event, unless they had a hand on it. Testing the vulnerability of our systems, testing methods to gain access to similar systems in other countries, etc.

Ron Wanttaja
 
If we were talking about small drones, I’d think it was one of our numerous adversaries gathering intel. But… large, fast drones make me wonder how someone could handle the logistics of getting them in (or built), launched, recovered, stored, transported, all without anyone noticing and calling the cops or the feds. That smacks of one of our own TLAs.

Unless it’s aliens.
 
Definitely a higher up rank/decision maker testing the reaction or lack there of/complacency of base operations in my opinion. Whomever is in charge of the base has a lot of explaining to do, how did they not atleast follow them back to their landing spot?
 
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I’m not saying they should have started shooting, but at 20ft long these things had to be landing somewhere. At 100mph a chopper should be able to pick one and tail it till it lands and or coordinate a bit with law enforcement on the ground to atleast recover one even if the operator is at a remote location. For it to happen 17 days in a row at approximately the same time and not have a few of them or their wreckages to examine is hard for me to believe. Unless they are going full star trek cloaking mode, which I doubt.
 
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Flatiowa said:
I’m not saying they should have started shooting, but at 20ft long these things had to be landing somewhere. At 100mph a chopper should be able to pick one and tail it till it lands and or coordinate a bit with law enforcement on the ground to atleast recover one even if the operator is at a remote location. For it to happen 17 days in a row at approximately the same time and not have a few of them or their wreckages to examine is hard for me to believe. Unless they are going full star trek cloaking mode, which I doubt.
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And...how did they determine 20 feet? Was it a 20-foot drone a mile away, or a 2-foot drone 200 feet away?

Why a 20-foot drone? More people likely to see it taking off or landing. Harder to hide once landed (have to disassemble it quicker), no need for a large payload capacity (don't need much of a camera). Our military drones are big because they can carry very complex payloads and can be based a considerable distance from the target areas. Doesn't take much to carry a GoPro, and the smaller the drone, the easier it is to stash away when it lands...if you're not telemetering the take anyway.

In this day and age, why no pictures? Seventeen days, and no one lifted a cell phone to shoot it? Nobody going old school with a digital SLR with a telephoto lens? No one calls the local TV stations after the third day?

White-Hat operation, obviously. People briefed that it's coming, and told not to talk about it.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
And...how did they determine 20 feet? Was it a 20-foot drone a mile away, or a 2-foot drone 200 feet away?

Why a 20-foot drone? More people likely to see it taking off or landing. Harder to hide once landed (have to disassemble it quicker), no need for a large payload capacity (don't need much of a camera). Our military drones are big because they can carry very complex payloads and can be based a considerable distance from the target areas. Doesn't take much to carry a GoPro, and the smaller the drone, the easier it is to stash away when it lands...if you're not telemetering the take anyway.

In this day and age, why no pictures? Seventeen days, and no one lifted a cell phone to shoot it? Nobody going old school with a digital SLR with a telephoto lens? No one calls the local TV stations after the third day?

White-Hat operation, obviously. People briefed that it's coming, and told not to talk about it.

Ron Wanttaja
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Estimated 20' long at 3000'. More likely to be much smaller and closer.
 
kyleb said:
I wonder if it could be a white hat operation to point out or test our vulnerability to such actions?
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Well, there's nothing in the WSJ article that's inconsistent with that.

In fact, one sentence suggests to me exactly that: "On Dec. 23, the drones made their last visit." If it was China, or aliens, they probably would not have stopped to celebrate Christmas Eve, right? And Russia observes the Orthodox holiday, with Christmas around Jan. 7.
 
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