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Feds investigate swarms of 6' night drones flying in formation over Nebraska/Colo. (Jade Fumblerooski?)

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By clapclapclap
in Daily Texan

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clapclapclap

clapclapclap 9000

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-creepy-unexplained-drones-are-swarming-by-night-over-colorado/ar-BBYwMD8

They come in the night: Drones — lots of them — flying in precise formations over the Colorado and Nebraska prairie.

Spoiler

“It’s creepy,” said Missy Blackman, who saw three drones hovering over her farm outside Palisade, Neb., on a recent evening, including one that lingered right above her house. “I have a lot of questions of why and what are they, and nobody seems to have any answers.”

Since before Christmas, sheriff’s departments in the region have been bombarded with reports of large drones with blinking lights and wingspans of up to 6 feet flying over rural towns and open fields. The drones have unnerved residents, prompted a federal investigation and made international news, even though they may be perfectly legal. And still, they remain unexplained.

“In terms of aircraft flying at night and not being identified, this is a first for me personally,” said Sheriff James Brueggeman of Perkins County, Neb., who has worked in law enforcement for about 28 years and who saw the drones while on patrol Tuesday night.

He said he had heard rumblings about people wanting to shoot down a drone, and had urged residents to report the sightings to law enforcement instead. “I think it’s kind of a joke, but you have to remember the part of the country we live in,” the sheriff said. “People here don’t like their privacy to be invaded.”

The flights have drawn attention just as the Federal Aviation Administration last week proposed sweeping new regulations that would require most drones to be identifiable. Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the F.A.A., said that the timing of the proposed rule was coincidental, but that the agency had opened an investigation of the sightings in Colorado and Nebraska.

“Multiple F.A.A. divisions and government agencies are investigating these reports,” Mr. Gregor said in an email. He declined to discuss the inquiry in detail, but said investigators were trying to determine who was operating the drones and the purpose of the flights.

On Facebook, 911 dispatch lines and localnewspapercolumns, the drones have been the talk of rural Colorado and Nebraska. And as sightings increase — people in four counties said they had seen them on Tuesday — so too does the urgency of residents’ questions.

Some have suggested they might be part of a simple mapping operation, or a land survey conducted by an oil and gas company — but why would such flights run at night?

Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, said on social media that he would “closely monitor the situation.” A newspaper headline in Akron, Colo., asked, “What’s with the drones?” Multiple law enforcement agencies warned residents that shooting a drone out of the sky would be a crime.

“They’re high enough where you couldn’t shoot one anyway, but they’re low enough that they’re a nuisance,” said Dawn George, who lives near Wray, Colo., and whose Border collie has barked at the drones when they fly over her property.

Ms. George said she had heard wild speculation about who might be responsible for the flights — the government? a cartel? a gas company? — and feared they would never know the truth.

“All the sudden, it’s just going to stop and we’re not going to have answers,” Ms. George said. “And that’s very unsettling to a lot of people. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

Unmanned drones, which have exploded into popular usage in recent years and can be used for everything from mapping to photography to farming, can be difficult to track. Operators of all but the smallest drones have been required to register with the federal government since 2015, but there is no straightforward, legal way for state and local officials to identify the owner of a particular drone or to track that drone’s location.

“Like in many other areas of drone regulation, the statutory and regulatory framework is lagging the technology,” said Reggie Govan, a former chief counsel to the F.A.A. who now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “It’s just that simple.”

Mr. Govan said that federal officials had tracking tools to figure out where the Colorado and Nebraska drones were coming from, but that the vast area over which the drones were operating could make that task difficult.

Limitations in drone detection have allowed rogue drone operators to approach the White House without raising alarms and, in another extreme case, to deploy homemade bombs in a Pennsylvania neighborhood. Though it was not clear that the drones flying over Colorado and Nebraska were violating the law, residents and local officials said they would welcome the proposed new F.A.A. rule that would make it easier to identify drones.

“Most people are very reasonable, and they say it could be somebody mapping or doing topography,” said Michael Yowell, a sheriff’s captain in Lincoln County, Colo., whose house was buzzed over by a drone squadron on New Year’s Eve. “But you can’t rule out what you don’t know.”

The drone sightings started in northeast Colorado around mid-December and have only grown more widespread since then. Almost all the sightings have occurred between sunset and about 10 p.m., though Ms. Blackman said she had seen them out later one night in Nebraska and, for the first time on Wednesday, during daylight hours. She said she had looked at them through binoculars and did not see any markings, just plain silver and white coloring.

Across the state line in Colorado, Captain Yowell tried to photograph the drones on Tuesday night with the camera he uses to document crime scenes, but came away without a clear image. He estimated that up to 30 drones were flying each night, though not all in the same place.

He said local officials were studying the flight path of the drones and coordinating across county lines to figure out where they were coming from. If his analysis was correct, he said, the drones would be back out on Wednesday night, flying in a grid pattern in the rural area between Hugo and Karval, Colo., about 100 miles southeast of Denver.

“We want to know, at around 10 o’clock, when we start to lose visuals of these, which direction are they homing? Which way are they heading?” Captain Yowell said. “We hope that’s how we can contact somebody on the ground.”

Sheriff Todd Combs of Yuma County, Colo., said in a Facebook post Tuesday that the drones appeared to be staying at least 150 feet from buildings or people, based on the footage he has seen.

“There are many theories about what is going on, but at this point, that’s all they are,” he said. “I think we are all feeling a little bit vulnerable due to the intrusion of our privacy that we enjoy in our rural community, but I don’t have a solution.”

 

Edited by clapclapclap
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Hate

Hate 20146

Posted
Posted

Of all the interesting places to fly a drone, why would anyone choose Eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska?  They should fly them over Sewell Park in San Marcos the first warm day in the spring or Miami Beach or something cool like that.

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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Posted

See, this would be a good time to get your constitutionally protected weapons out and start shooting at these things instead of shooting at children or moviegoers or mall shoppers.

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Cajun

Cajun 11750

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, Hate said:

Of all the interesting places to fly a drone, why would anyone choose Eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska?  They should fly them over Sewell Park in San Marcos the first warm day in the spring or Miami Beach or something cool like that.

Missle silos?

/tinfoilhat

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105438

Posted
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46 minutes ago, Lobo said:

See, this would be a good time to get your constitutionally protected weapons out and start shooting at these things instead of shooting at children or moviegoers or mall shoppers.

19-20 yr old Brisketexan woulda viewed that as an opportunity for some epic fun with firearms.  Shit, we'da camped out in a jeep, waiting for 'em to fly over, and unloaded everything we had.  Might have even made up special 10 gauge loads for the purpose.  That's just good American fun is what that is.

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utee94

utee94 15868

Posted
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43 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

19-20 yr old Brisketexan woulda viewed that as an opportunity for some epic fun with firearms.  Shit, we'da camped out in a jeep, waiting for 'em to fly over, and unloaded everything we had.  Might have even made up special 10 gauge loads for the purpose.  That's just good American fun is what that is.

Yup.  If they were flying over my property I'd assume they were a threat to my Castle, my life and property, and take appropriate actions to protect myself by blowing them out of the sky.  Does your shotgun need to be plugged if you're hunting drones rather than wildlife?

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immortal13

immortal13 4059

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Yup.  If they were flying over my property I'd assume they were a threat to my Castle, my life and property, and take appropriate actions to protect myself by blowing them out of the sky.  Does your shotgun need to be plugged if you're hunting drones rather than wildlife?

Only if it's waterfowl

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89824

Posted
Posted

Realistically, if they are as big and as numerous as what's being claimed, and are sticking to specific areas and specific times (7-10pm), the Air Force most likely has a tab on them.

For fuck's sake, NORAD is in Central Colorado, but we are supposed to believe these mysterious drone clusters are flying around Colorado without being tracked?

FWIW, a buddy who lives in Denver says the local rumors are that somebody lost something off of an aircraft, and they are looking for it.

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17811

Posted
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34 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Realistically, if they are as big and as numerous as what's being claimed, and are sticking to specific areas and specific times (7-10pm), the Air Force most likely has a tab on them.

For fuck's sake, NORAD is in Central Colorado, but we are supposed to believe these mysterious drone clusters are flying around Colorado without being tracked?

FWIW, a buddy who lives in Denver says the local rumors are that somebody lost something off of an aircraft, and they are looking for it.

This.  

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89824

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

They are testing military drone surveillance. Tommy and Johnny Fuckstick aren’t flying their drones in formation 

Afghanistan is a much better place to test military drones, and they can do it 24/7 without anybody questioning them.  Plus, if a local manages to take one down in Afghanistan, they can swoop in with troops to recover it or destroy it, and nobody is the wiser.

And they can use their drones to kill people, without causing too much fo a fuss.

Blowing somebody up in Pigfuck, Nebraska, tends to draw a lot of attention.

Edited by atomheartbevo
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NeverMarryAStripper

NeverMarryAStripper 21943

Posted
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2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Realistically, if they are as big and as numerous as what's being claimed, and are sticking to specific areas and specific times (7-10pm), the Air Force most likely has a tab on them.

For fuck's sake, NORAD is in Central Colorado, but we are supposed to believe these mysterious drone clusters are flying around Colorado without being tracked?

FWIW, a buddy who lives in Denver says the local rumors are that somebody lost something off of an aircraft, and they are looking for it.

So somewhere in Colorado or Nebraska is a hole with an armed nuke in it?

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89824

Posted
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6 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

So somewhere in Colorado or Nebraska is a hole with an armed nuke in it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offutt_Air_Force_Base

Quote

 It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command(USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit.

With that said, I don't see any nuke units at Offutt, but there are plenty of aircraft in surrounding states that do.

And there's a shit-ton of classified aircraft out of Offutt and parts east and west of Colorado.

I just don't see a bunch of civilian operators playing with large drone formations in NORAD's backyard, without getting a visit from the MIB.  These drone formations are happening because the Air Force is onboard with it, or even running it.  

It could even be something like the Air Force is testing out some kind of detection equipment, and whatever they are trying to detect, perhaps they drive vehicles around containing what is being searched for, and then see if the drones can find them.  /TomClancyJackRyanGhostNovel

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bolverk

bolverk 29728

Posted
Posted (edited)
16 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offutt_Air_Force_Base

With that said, I don't see any nuke units at Offutt, but there are plenty of aircraft in surrounding states that do.

And there's a shit-ton of classified aircraft out of Offutt and parts east and west of Colorado.

I just don't see a bunch of civilian operators playing with large drone formations in NORAD's backyard, without getting a visit from the MIB.  These drone formations are happening because the Air Force is onboard with it, or even running it.  

It could even be something like the Air Force is testing out some kind of detection equipment, and whatever they are trying to detect, perhaps they drive vehicles around containing what is being searched for, and then see if the drones can find them.  /TomClancyJackRyanGhostNovel

I checked all the locations mentioned in that article and they draw a broad swath running from northeast of Colorado Springs (Fort Carson & Air Force Academy) into southwest Nebraska.

But I’m more inclined to believe they’re doing some sort of survey work, possibly related to the Ogallala Aquifer as that area around the state line is heavily irrigated.

Edited by bolverk
Swath
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AUS-97HORN

AUS-97HORN 11824

Posted
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4 hours ago, utee94 said:

Yup.  If they were flying over my property I'd assume they were a threat to my Castle, my life and property, and take appropriate actions to protect myself by blowing them out of the sky.  Does your shotgun need to be plugged if you're hunting drones rather than wildlife?

 

5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

19-20 yr old Brisketexan woulda viewed that as an opportunity for some epic fun with firearms.  Shit, we'da camped out in a jeep, waiting for 'em to fly over, and unloaded everything we had.  Might have even made up special 10 gauge loads for the purpose.  That's just good American fun is what that is.

kinda surprised as a law dog that you dont know its illegal to shoot them down, even if they are 100% over your property:

https://www.newsweek.com/it-legal-shoot-down-drone-hovering-over-your-property-362878

3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

FWIW, a buddy who lives in Denver says the local rumors are that somebody lost something off of an aircraft, and they are looking for it.

 

if thats the case, why the fuck would you only look for it at night when its harder to spot?- FLIR cameras cant spot something if its the same temp as the air around it (which it would be unless it had a still active power source..... oh fuck, we've got a missing Nuke out there dont we). 

 

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89824

Posted
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2 hours ago, bolverk said:

I checked all the locations mentioned in that article and they draw a broad swath running from northeast of Colorado Springs (Fort Carson & Air Force Academy) into southwest Nebraska.

But I’m more inclined to believe they’re doing some sort of survey work, possibly related to the Ogallala Aquifer as that area around the state line is heavily irrigated.

That would be hilarious if it's the state or a federal agency secretly checking to see who all is running various irrigation setups.

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Lat22

Lat22 4018

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

19-20 yr old Brisketexan woulda viewed that as an opportunity for some epic fun with firearms.  Shit, we'da camped out in a jeep, waiting for 'em to fly over, and unloaded everything we had.  Might have even made up special 10 gauge loads for the purpose.  That's just good American fun is what that is.

Cajunhorn and I would have been right there with you. The stupid shit we got away with back then.........

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105438

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4 minutes ago, Lat22 said:

Cajunhorn and I would have been right there with you. The stupid shit we got away with back then.........

In the same area, as I recall -- Devine and Bigfoot were dangerous territory back in the day.  Slung a lotta lead out that way.  If this had happened then and there....geez, we'd have made it our mission to bag a drone.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105438

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3 minutes ago, Goredho said:

Well, given the collective intelligence exhibited by Americans these days, I'm going with it being a no-shit alien invasion that everyone thinks is a bunch of fucking drones in an inverse of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.

The only way to be sure is to monitor local hospitals for anal probe injuries.

The one thing I've learned from watching years of UFO stuff: aliens love to probe butts.

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washparkhorn

washparkhorn 9939

Posted
Posted

Our premier ICBM’s are located out there. After the precision drone/missile attack in Saudi and with the ramp up of hostilities with Iran, it looks like we are testing defenses for our vital nuclear deterrent - ICBM’s capable of MAD. 

https://www.warren.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/331280/history-of-f-e-warren-afb/

 

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Cajun

Cajun 11750

Posted
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8 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

The only way to be sure is to monitor local hospitals for anal probe injuries.

The one thing I've learned from watching years of UFO stuff: aliens love to probe butts.

To be fair, from monitoring NSAA (IPIHB), Surly has the same proclivities.

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Cajun

Cajun 11750

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

Our premier ICBM’s are located out there. After the precision drone/missile attack in Saudi and with the ramp up of hostilities with Iran, it looks like we are testing defenses for our vital nuclear deterrent - ICBM’s capable of MAD. 

https://www.warren.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/331280/history-of-f-e-warren-afb/

 

I KNEW IT!!!

What do I win?

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Armybrat

Armybrat 40920

Posted
Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

The only way to be sure is to monitor local hospitals for anal probe injuries.

The one thing I've learned from watching years of UFO stuff: aliens love to probe butts.

Well, to be fair, that’s where most of the thinking in this country has been taking place the past few generations.

Edited by Armybrat
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