5 ms·

I don't know naval law but I'm trying to apply your first point to a drone flying over a restricted airspace like an embassy. It's not you starting an incident

I don't know naval law but I'm trying to apply your first point to a drone flying over a restricted airspace like an embassy. It's not you starting an incident when you shoot the drone down. You can choose not to respond to the provocation of course, but I'd imagine you'd want the drone down for security reasons. It can potentially carry a warhead or biological weapon. You don't need to use your best know-how to shoot the drone down. Good occasion to practice less-preferred methods.

vanattab 4y ago
I am pretty sure the Chinese embassy shooting down a usa drone in USA territory or elsewhere (or vis versa) would constitute an international incident.
- extr 4y ago
  Shooting down a circling UAV with a missile, sure. But the equivalent here is sending a micro drone to go hover outside the windows. I think most people would agree that's pretty brazen provocation, a shotgun is a totally proportional response.
  - rightbyte 4y ago
    Call the local police and let them catch it or use some peaceful fishing net? Can't have people fireing at the sky in cities ...
    - shadowgovt 4y ago
      There's precedent in some sections of the United States that down in a drone with a shotgun is legal. But it is not national president, and as far as I'm aware it hasn't been tried in a densely populated area. I completely agree that in general, discharging a firearm in an urban environment would probably constitute far more risk than the drone.
  - 13of40 4y ago
    Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds like according to the FAA flying a drone over a Navy ship is only restricted if you're below 1000 feet: https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-establishes-restrictions-drone-operations-near-us-navy-vessels https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-establishes-restrictions-dr...
    - ncmncm 4y ago
      ...which some were.
dylan604 4y ago
If your own intelligence gaterhing is so bad that you can't tell if a drone is armed or not, then you look really dumb when you shoot down unarmed drones because "scared". Almost as bad as when inept militaries shoot down passenger planes.
- hericium 4y ago
  What if foreign power's soldiers board your ship? Acting like nothing's happening to not look "scared"? I don't see how a possibly military vehicle entering space just over your military vehicle is much different than military personnel boarding your craft. Detain humans, shoot drones down.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    >What if foreign power's soldiers board your ship? Acting like nothing's happening to not look "scared"? Where does this comparison even come from? If these soldiers were not invited onboard, then it is clearly an act of aggression and some might say casus belli. Flying drones over another sovereign's naval vessel in international water is nothing like boarding that same vessel with sailors. To even attempt to rationalize that as the same is just some sort of Simone Biles level of mental gymnastics I am incapable of comprehending.
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      As we've seen from Ukraine, even small drones can be used for military reasons or even be carrying explosives to be dropped.
      - shadowgovt 4y ago
        Sure, and if that happened between two non-aggressor nations in international waters, it would change the calculus for everyone involved. But it hasn't happened and it would make the Americans look profoundly trigger happy to first strike on a simple observation drone that's privately owned.
- 4y ago
Gordonjcp 4y ago
> I'd imagine you'd want the drone down for security reasons. It can potentially carry a warhead or biological weapon. Embassies tend to be in cities. Are you going to shoot a drone down over someone else's city because it's sniffing around your embassy? Where are the bits going to land? How many diplomats would you like to have sent home in disgrace, assuming your host country doesn't just vapourise the lot?
- multjoy 4y ago
  Embassies are different. In a non-hostile country, the expectation is that the host country will deal with the matter. A drone sniffing around an embassy building is absolutely going to be treated as a CT threat by the host authorities.

vanattab 4y ago

I am pretty sure the Chinese embassy shooting down a usa drone in USA territory or elsewhere (or vis versa) would constitute an international incident.

extr 4y ago
Shooting down a circling UAV with a missile, sure. But the equivalent here is sending a micro drone to go hover outside the windows. I think most people would agree that's pretty brazen provocation, a shotgun is a totally proportional response.
- rightbyte 4y ago
  Call the local police and let them catch it or use some peaceful fishing net? Can't have people fireing at the sky in cities ...
  - shadowgovt 4y ago
    There's precedent in some sections of the United States that down in a drone with a shotgun is legal. But it is not national president, and as far as I'm aware it hasn't been tried in a densely populated area. I completely agree that in general, discharging a firearm in an urban environment would probably constitute far more risk than the drone.
- 13of40 4y ago
  Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds like according to the FAA flying a drone over a Navy ship is only restricted if you're below 1000 feet: https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-establishes-restrictions-drone-operations-near-us-navy-vessels https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-establishes-restrictions-dr...
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    ...which some were.

dylan604 4y ago

If your own intelligence gaterhing is so bad that you can't tell if a drone is armed or not, then you look really dumb when you shoot down unarmed drones because "scared". Almost as bad as when inept militaries shoot down passenger planes.

hericium 4y ago
What if foreign power's soldiers board your ship? Acting like nothing's happening to not look "scared"? I don't see how a possibly military vehicle entering space just over your military vehicle is much different than military personnel boarding your craft. Detain humans, shoot drones down.
- dylan604 4y ago
  >What if foreign power's soldiers board your ship? Acting like nothing's happening to not look "scared"? Where does this comparison even come from? If these soldiers were not invited onboard, then it is clearly an act of aggression and some might say casus belli. Flying drones over another sovereign's naval vessel in international water is nothing like boarding that same vessel with sailors. To even attempt to rationalize that as the same is just some sort of Simone Biles level of mental gymnastics I am incapable of comprehending.
  - snovv_crash 4y ago
    As we've seen from Ukraine, even small drones can be used for military reasons or even be carrying explosives to be dropped.
    - shadowgovt 4y ago
      Sure, and if that happened between two non-aggressor nations in international waters, it would change the calculus for everyone involved. But it hasn't happened and it would make the Americans look profoundly trigger happy to first strike on a simple observation drone that's privately owned.
4y ago

Gordonjcp 4y ago

> I'd imagine you'd want the drone down for security reasons. It can potentially carry a warhead or biological weapon. Embassies tend to be in cities. Are you going to shoot a drone down over someone else's city because it's sniffing around your embassy? Where are the bits going to land? How many diplomats would you like to have sent home in disgrace, assuming your host country doesn't just vapourise the lot?

multjoy 4y ago
Embassies are different. In a non-hostile country, the expectation is that the host country will deal with the matter. A drone sniffing around an embassy building is absolutely going to be treated as a CT threat by the host authorities.