Texas Sheriff's office receives weaponizable drone, alarms local news station

Texas Sheriff's office receives weaponizable drone, alarms local news station

www.engadget.com

Ready to supersize your favorite RC helicopter and bullseye some perps with an aerial bean bag launcher? The Sheriff's office in Montgomery County, Texas is, and it's really freaking out the local news. KPRC Local 2 News feverishly asks if the Sheriff's new unmanned Shadowhawk helicopter is a safety asset, or a privacy violation -- we just think it's awesome. Built and sold by Vanguard Defense Industries, this wireless whirlybird comes equipped with .....

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.click2houston.com
www.gao.gov
www.engadget.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Unmanned Police Drones Coming Soon to Texas

...this wireless whirlybird comes equipped with a remote video camera, an infrared heat-seeking device and an onboard GPS. It's also capable of carrying weapons, although the Sheriff said that there were no plans to weaponize the UAV. The 50-pound chopper is FAA approved to help track down criminals on the run or assist swat teams in a standoff -- a blessing that should keep this police drone from being grounded. Hit the source link below see KPRC's local coverage, "Big Brother" freakout and all.

This is a tale of information control.... some might say, social engineering, or propaganda; while others simply call it marketing.

The tone and tenor of the article describes the subject in such a way as to ensure the reader views any subsequent information about this 'news' with a certain bias... if you will.

The source article comes from the Houston local news you can find here:

"New Police Drone Near Houston Could Carry Weapons"
www.click2houston.com...

It references a government document known as:

"UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Federal Actions Needed to Ensure Safety and Expand Their Potential Uses within the National Airspace System"

www.gao.gov...

The source material raises questions about air traffic safety and privacy issues.... Which apparently did not sit well with the military industrial complex intent to make certain these little hovering law enforcement tools become common place to use...

So... my conspiracy angle is this... The DHS calls the Pentagon (mothership of the Military Industrial Complex) who then calls their friends on the payroll at AOL (www.wired.com...) who use one of their holdings (Engadget) to reprint the news on a national level with the tone changed from alarm to "coolness" (with a gratuitous jab at the "Big Brother freak out" business.... because any concerns simply are "laughable," right?)

So... for those with any recognition of how people's opinions are "molded" ... you can see where this goes....

www.engadget.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

when it comes out with a lazer aimed 308, or a m60 then freak till then smile and wave

I live here so I am all over trying to find more out about this. Thanks for pointing this out.

Don't know much about Montgomery County personally, but I'm about to find out.

He said the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) could be used in hunting criminals who are running from police or assessing a scene where SWAT team officers are facing an active shooter. Gage said it will also be deployed for criminal investigations such as drug shipments. "We're not going to use it to be invading somebody's privacy. It'll be used for situations we have with criminals," Gage said. It could have been used to help firefighters in the recent tri-county wildfires, he said, and it also could be handy in future scenarios like a recent search for a missing college student in The Woodlands.

Above quote from article listed in the original post.

I think we have helicopters for this can anyone explain why a drone would be better?

reply to post by Maxmars

Vanguard Defense Industries

I'm interested in finding out their parent company...

Very cool i cant wait untill they start using this. It would be pretty cool to see this be used in law enforcement.

Three words:

Shoot...It.... DOWN.

The end.

Originally posted by Ameilia

I think we have helicopters for this can anyone explain why a drone would be better?

edit on 11/1/11 by Ameilia because: (no reason given)

Battleground: America.

Originally posted by TrueAmerican
Three words:

Shoot...It.... DOWN.

The end.

Life in prison for killing an active duty police unit.

Is it life imitating art or art imitating life? We are approaching the "They Live" scenario.



Soon drones will monitor human behavior for preemptive law enforcement. They can already pick people out with a program that scans faces, now imagine activity patterns...

reply to post by Ninoxx55

I hope you're being sarcastic?? To me this is just a target we have to learn how to shoot down or they will be used on us sooner than later.

reply to post by conspiracytheoristIAM


A short piece of chain shot up in the blades will do the trick on a rc chopper.
It will not take long at all until these are everywhere and protection laws will follow.

Originally posted by Americanist
reply to post by Maxmars

 

Vanguard Defense Industries

I'm interested in finding out their parent company...

It was an interesting exercise. It appears that there is a Vanguard Defense Industries East and a Vanguard Defense Industries West.

I think the following link will interest you....

www.thetechherald.com...

Anti-Sec targeted them a while back

"Richard T. Garcia is also an executive board member of InfraGard, a sinister alliance of law enforcement, military, and private security contractors dedicated to protecting the infrastructure of the very systems we aim to destroy. It is our pleasure to make a mockery of InfraGard for the third time, once again dumping their internal meeting notes, membership rosters, and other private business matters," the statement said, expanding on the reasoning given earlier.

Then there's this: www.thetechherald.com...&P-downgrade

Definitely worth a read for those who think the financial community isn't knee-deep in profiteering along with the MIC.

what frequency does it use?

$50 DIY radio shack jammer might be alot more fun than a shotgun.


If com-sats and military drones can be hacked, These should be a piece of cake.

what frequency does it use?

$50 DIY radio shack jammer might be alot more fun than a shotgun.


If com-sats and military drones can be hacked, These should be a piece of cake.

reply to post by BadNinja68


I remember in the 90's my brother had a big cb in his car.
We would drive by the park where people were flying these things and he would key his mic and they would start heading to the ground!

reply to post by Ameilia


why drones rather than helicopters :

1 - unit cost < 100k for a drone > 1 million for a helicopter
2 - operating and maintainance costs
3 - crew costs
4 - ease of deployment [ a drone that size can be launced from the back of an SUV on any road that has 5m *20m unobstructed sky ]

reply to post by ignorant_ape
That's what I was going to say. If people can't see the advantages of this, then I think they might really believe most of the stuff on this site. I think this would be great for search and rescue, especially the infrared heat seeking device. Also it can fly closer to the ground. It could be used for nefarious purposes but I think they will concentrate on the good uses.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by Ameilia

 

why drones rather than helicopters :

1 - unit cost < 100k for a drone > 1 million for a helicopter
2 - operating and maintainance costs
3 - crew costs
4 - ease of deployment [ a drone that size can be launced from the back of an SUV on any road that has 5m *20m unobstructed sky ]

Thank you. Here is a reasonable explanation of why a drone would be a better investment for police than a helicopter. All these things are logical and I don't know why none of them popped into my brain. I'm a change resistant person by nature. But your reasons are sound.

I'm glad I gained perspective here thanks to your post.

reply to post by Maxmars


I have a friend in marketing, public relations who is trained in social engineering with psychological gaming - I'd say you're spot on. This is the type of everyday conspiracy that most folks buy hook, line and sinker. Good job. S&F.