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I'm not surprised. How hard would it be for an individual to mount an RPG or Liberator firearm payload on a sub $1k drone that can be piloted 20km? I also exp

I'm not surprised. How hard would it be for an individual to mount an RPG or Liberator firearm payload on a sub $1k drone that can be piloted 20km? I also expect drone regulations to increase considerably once attacks from such low-end drones start appearing.

Klinky 12y ago
Certainly not trivial, and certainly not for $1K. Perhaps in 10 years like the article suggests. However, you could probably take an off-the-shelf large R/C plane or helicopter and put a small explosive payload in it, then crash it into somewhere. Even that would be hard to do for under $1K, and range would be limited.
- walshemj 12y ago
  And if it was practicable and effective it would have been done already. The IRA experimented with this decades ago and gave up and lest be honest the average al Qaeda terrorist cell would find using human suicide bombers much easier to use.
  - Theodores 12y ago
    You have been watching too much CNN. Your comment is the silliest thing I have read on HN in a long time. Leonardo da Vinci experimented with flight many centuries ago. He gave up. Which came first, the widespread availability of drones or the Good Friday Agreement? How do you get a 'human suicide bomber' in to some place like Number 10 Downing Street? You don't. You don't even use a drone. You use a mortar bomb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack Where are these 'al-qaeda' terror cells of yours? The ones that see their lives as having no more value than that of a housefly's? Did I miss out on the Kool Aid?
    - walshemj 12y ago
      Terrorists only use the tactics their people can execute effectively which is why terry talliban use crude IED's and target soft civilian targets and don't go toe to toe with the SAS. The IRA did experiment with RC planes as an attack vector they decided that it was not worth the effort - Car bombs and improvised mortars where a better weapon more bang for the buck Why exactly do you think my comment was silly?
      - Theodores 12y ago
        Where is this evidence you have of the IRA using drones? I assume there is some, I assume you have it, so it should be no problem to post a link, or maybe two links as single source is sometimes not good enough. Have you been to Afghanistan? Ever met a genuine terrorist? You seem to make assumptions as if you know how these terrorist people think. Earlier you were talking about those fictional 'al-qaeda' fellows, not to be confused with those genuine 'Taliban' (the word means 'students'). There is a difference, that is why we have these different labels and words for things, it helps us to explain what we mean. You can't just use any old words interchangeably and spell things wrongly. Regarding your digressions... I have been watching the news and, from what I can remember, these 'Taliban' of yours have been attacking paid up military folk and the mercenary civilian contractors sent there on some bounty hunt to support a military operation. The general idea is that, wherever you live, you attack an uninvited occupying army, it does not matter where they are from, how trans-gendered they are, whether they call themselves 'SAS' or whatever. If there are soldiers in silly little uniforms occupying your country then they are fair game to the likes of 'the talliban' (your spelling). If I remember, the 'Coalition of the Willing', of which I guess you support wholeheartedly from the comfort of your armchair, bombed the Red Cross food depot, not once, but twice. They have also bombed plenty of wedding parties. I think you will find these are 'soft targets'. All considered, I think it is about time you got off your armchair and went to see a bit of the real world.
        walshemj 12y ago
        BBC documentary with ex PIRA bomb makers was the source for the RC planes. actually I do know the difference between the different factions in Afghanistan 055 Brigade al Qaeda and the locally recruited fighters. And forgive me if the spell checker I used doesn't have you preferred spellings.
- imjustsaying 12y ago
  Good point. I just did some searching around the internet; 20km for under $1k is way off the mark. 300m however with a live video stream and GPS navigation programming is available under $1k even on Amazon: http://lowenddrone.com http://lowenddrone.com
  - LyndsySimon 12y ago
    The big problem there is the telemetry. Make it semi autonomous - fly to target at 500', then dive straight down and detonate. I'm fairly confident I could put together an aircraft that could travel 20km with a 3km payload and self-destruct at the destination for less than $1k.
    - Klinky 12y ago
      Doesn't ArduPilot offer those autonomous features?
      - LyndsySimon 12y ago
        I know it does waypoints, but "pop up and dive bomb this target" probably isn't a popular feature :)
  - Klinky 12y ago
    That drone will not be able to carry much of a payload at all. I would be surprised if you could add a few extra ounces to it without it being bogged down. Something like: http://www.steadidrone.eu/octocopter-ei8ht/ http://www.steadidrone.eu/octocopter-ei8ht/ Would be a better candidate. Perhaps a small drone could drop an activated payload, but I would forget about launching anything off of them, as that would likely blow the drone out of the sky due to the thrust generated by the payload's propellant.

Klinky 12y ago

Certainly not trivial, and certainly not for $1K. Perhaps in 10 years like the article suggests. However, you could probably take an off-the-shelf large R/C plane or helicopter and put a small explosive payload in it, then crash it into somewhere. Even that would be hard to do for under $1K, and range would be limited.

walshemj 12y ago
And if it was practicable and effective it would have been done already. The IRA experimented with this decades ago and gave up and lest be honest the average al Qaeda terrorist cell would find using human suicide bombers much easier to use.
- Theodores 12y ago
  You have been watching too much CNN. Your comment is the silliest thing I have read on HN in a long time. Leonardo da Vinci experimented with flight many centuries ago. He gave up. Which came first, the widespread availability of drones or the Good Friday Agreement? How do you get a 'human suicide bomber' in to some place like Number 10 Downing Street? You don't. You don't even use a drone. You use a mortar bomb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downing_Street_mortar_attack Where are these 'al-qaeda' terror cells of yours? The ones that see their lives as having no more value than that of a housefly's? Did I miss out on the Kool Aid?
  - walshemj 12y ago
    Terrorists only use the tactics their people can execute effectively which is why terry talliban use crude IED's and target soft civilian targets and don't go toe to toe with the SAS. The IRA did experiment with RC planes as an attack vector they decided that it was not worth the effort - Car bombs and improvised mortars where a better weapon more bang for the buck Why exactly do you think my comment was silly?
    - Theodores 12y ago
      Where is this evidence you have of the IRA using drones? I assume there is some, I assume you have it, so it should be no problem to post a link, or maybe two links as single source is sometimes not good enough. Have you been to Afghanistan? Ever met a genuine terrorist? You seem to make assumptions as if you know how these terrorist people think. Earlier you were talking about those fictional 'al-qaeda' fellows, not to be confused with those genuine 'Taliban' (the word means 'students'). There is a difference, that is why we have these different labels and words for things, it helps us to explain what we mean. You can't just use any old words interchangeably and spell things wrongly. Regarding your digressions... I have been watching the news and, from what I can remember, these 'Taliban' of yours have been attacking paid up military folk and the mercenary civilian contractors sent there on some bounty hunt to support a military operation. The general idea is that, wherever you live, you attack an uninvited occupying army, it does not matter where they are from, how trans-gendered they are, whether they call themselves 'SAS' or whatever. If there are soldiers in silly little uniforms occupying your country then they are fair game to the likes of 'the talliban' (your spelling). If I remember, the 'Coalition of the Willing', of which I guess you support wholeheartedly from the comfort of your armchair, bombed the Red Cross food depot, not once, but twice. They have also bombed plenty of wedding parties. I think you will find these are 'soft targets'. All considered, I think it is about time you got off your armchair and went to see a bit of the real world.
      - walshemj 12y ago
        BBC documentary with ex PIRA bomb makers was the source for the RC planes. actually I do know the difference between the different factions in Afghanistan 055 Brigade al Qaeda and the locally recruited fighters. And forgive me if the spell checker I used doesn't have you preferred spellings.
imjustsaying 12y ago
Good point. I just did some searching around the internet; 20km for under $1k is way off the mark. 300m however with a live video stream and GPS navigation programming is available under $1k even on Amazon: http://lowenddrone.com http://lowenddrone.com
- LyndsySimon 12y ago
  The big problem there is the telemetry. Make it semi autonomous - fly to target at 500', then dive straight down and detonate. I'm fairly confident I could put together an aircraft that could travel 20km with a 3km payload and self-destruct at the destination for less than $1k.
  - Klinky 12y ago
    Doesn't ArduPilot offer those autonomous features?
    - LyndsySimon 12y ago
      I know it does waypoints, but "pop up and dive bomb this target" probably isn't a popular feature :)
- Klinky 12y ago
  That drone will not be able to carry much of a payload at all. I would be surprised if you could add a few extra ounces to it without it being bogged down. Something like: http://www.steadidrone.eu/octocopter-ei8ht/ http://www.steadidrone.eu/octocopter-ei8ht/ Would be a better candidate. Perhaps a small drone could drop an activated payload, but I would forget about launching anything off of them, as that would likely blow the drone out of the sky due to the thrust generated by the payload's propellant.