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There must have been some motive for whoever did this. AFAIK, no environmental or terrorist groups have claimed responsibility. Is it possible that this has be

There must have been some motive for whoever did this. AFAIK, no environmental or terrorist groups have claimed responsibility. Is it possible that this has been done by someone within the police or intelligence community in order to create a pretext for pushing through drone licensing laws?

voltagex_ 8y ago
https://twitter.com/GlytchTech/status/1076715652843487232?s=19 https://twitter.com/GlytchTech/status/1076715652843487232?s=...
- kiliantics 8y ago
  Didn't the drone disappear to recharge/replace batteries and return multiple times? I thought this meant it must be intentional and not accidental. Though, the accidental explanation is arguably more ominous/terrifying. It reminds of the episode "Autofac" from the "Electric Dreams" series.
  - voltagex_ 8y ago
    Hah, that's the first time I've heard "disappeared/reappeared". It's plausable, but are there multiple witnesses/reliable video?
CydeWeys 8y ago
Could just be some immature troublemaker, like people who shine lasers at planes. There doesn't need to be some real motive.
- ngngngng 8y ago
  Not an expert, but this really seems like something a teenager that recently acquired a drone and was showing off to his friends would do.
malka 8y ago
It could have been done for the sake of lulz
- 1337biz 8y ago
  Is there already word from the land of lulz? I bet they are celebrating the situation no matter if there is any relation.
goodcanadian 8y ago
I believe it is more likely to be a foreign nation proving a capability. They've just shown that with a team of a dozen people or so and some moderately sophisticated drones, they could shut down every major airport in the country more or less indefinitely.
- knorker 8y ago
  I doubt it. That would be like burning a zero-day exploit. I think the airports have been absolutely asleep at the wheel because OF COURSE this was a risk. OF COURSE I would have set up TDoA equipment and had a company with anti-drone tech on speed dial (at the very least) if I were responsible for an airport bigger than a hobbyist field. I bet you could get cover for Gatwick with TDoA equipment for less than $10k easy, say another $10k to have it installed. Hell, you could probably get some amateur radio people to install it for free, but paying $10k is more CYA. Anyway, my point is that now they sure as hell will prepare, so next time (well... give it a year for them to get their thumbs out of their asses) it will not work as well.
  - goodcanadian 8y ago
    I see your point. However, if they were some kind of activists, we would have heard their manifesto by now. If they were simply trouble makers, I would have expected them to get bored (and maybe scared) a lot sooner. The list of reasonable candidates is a bit short. I wouldn't put it past the Russians (for example, I don't mean to point fingers) to cause trouble just for the sake of causing trouble. Also, even if this particular tactic becomes harder in the future, it shows just how pitiful the response has been. Whoever it was tested us, and we failed.
    - ryacko 8y ago
      I haven’t even seen video of the drones, I think that would be released before the government provides free advertising.
  - user5994461 8y ago
    No company in their right mind would sell anything like that for less than $10k. Try £100+ as a starting price for one unit. It's aerospace and defense equipment and the airport is losing a truckload of money. One of the article was giving a £16M figure for a 6 pack of the Israel Dome system.
jmull 8y ago
Is it possible? Maybe. But it could also just be some random asshole. There are a lot of random assholes all over the place.

voltagex_ 8y ago

https://twitter.com/GlytchTech/status/1076715652843487232?s=19 https://twitter.com/GlytchTech/status/1076715652843487232?s=...

kiliantics 8y ago
Didn't the drone disappear to recharge/replace batteries and return multiple times? I thought this meant it must be intentional and not accidental. Though, the accidental explanation is arguably more ominous/terrifying. It reminds of the episode "Autofac" from the "Electric Dreams" series.
- voltagex_ 8y ago
  Hah, that's the first time I've heard "disappeared/reappeared". It's plausable, but are there multiple witnesses/reliable video?

CydeWeys 8y ago

Could just be some immature troublemaker, like people who shine lasers at planes. There doesn't need to be some real motive.

ngngngng 8y ago
Not an expert, but this really seems like something a teenager that recently acquired a drone and was showing off to his friends would do.

malka 8y ago

It could have been done for the sake of lulz

1337biz 8y ago
Is there already word from the land of lulz? I bet they are celebrating the situation no matter if there is any relation.

goodcanadian 8y ago

I believe it is more likely to be a foreign nation proving a capability. They've just shown that with a team of a dozen people or so and some moderately sophisticated drones, they could shut down every major airport in the country more or less indefinitely.

knorker 8y ago
I doubt it. That would be like burning a zero-day exploit. I think the airports have been absolutely asleep at the wheel because OF COURSE this was a risk. OF COURSE I would have set up TDoA equipment and had a company with anti-drone tech on speed dial (at the very least) if I were responsible for an airport bigger than a hobbyist field. I bet you could get cover for Gatwick with TDoA equipment for less than $10k easy, say another $10k to have it installed. Hell, you could probably get some amateur radio people to install it for free, but paying $10k is more CYA. Anyway, my point is that now they sure as hell will prepare, so next time (well... give it a year for them to get their thumbs out of their asses) it will not work as well.
- goodcanadian 8y ago
  I see your point. However, if they were some kind of activists, we would have heard their manifesto by now. If they were simply trouble makers, I would have expected them to get bored (and maybe scared) a lot sooner. The list of reasonable candidates is a bit short. I wouldn't put it past the Russians (for example, I don't mean to point fingers) to cause trouble just for the sake of causing trouble. Also, even if this particular tactic becomes harder in the future, it shows just how pitiful the response has been. Whoever it was tested us, and we failed.
  - ryacko 8y ago
    I haven’t even seen video of the drones, I think that would be released before the government provides free advertising.
- user5994461 8y ago
  No company in their right mind would sell anything like that for less than $10k. Try £100+ as a starting price for one unit. It's aerospace and defense equipment and the airport is losing a truckload of money. One of the article was giving a £16M figure for a 6 pack of the Israel Dome system.

jmull 8y ago

Is it possible? Maybe. But it could also just be some random asshole. There are a lot of random assholes all over the place.