5 ms·

> Who among us hasn’t, at some point, mistaken a party balloon for a cartel drone? Let him cast the first stone.

by throwaway0q5347 7mo ago

esseph 7mo ago
It's a shame the F-22 wasn't publicly allowed to get its second A2A kill! ;)
- toast0 7mo ago
  Fyi, the f-22 logged a second kill shortly after the first: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flyi...
  - duskwuff 7mo ago
    Which is generally believed to have been a radiosonde launched by hobbyists in the US: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1158048921/pico-balloon-k9yo https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1158048921/pico-balloon-k9yo
throwup238 7mo ago
I once mistook a Scottish lake monster for a narcosub, but can’t say I’ve ever mistaken a party balloon for a narcodrone.
joe_mamba 7mo ago
Firstly, how is the world's most powerful military afraid of "cartel drones"? Don't they already have some sci-fi laser/EW gizmos to take care of those considering how much taxpayer dollars go to the defense sector? Secondly, contrary to popular belief, cartel leaders are smart enough to know not to directly mess with and attract the wrath of the US military when that's not good for their core business.
- jeffbee 7mo ago
  The laser gizmo is central to this story.
- milesskorpen 7mo ago
  Reading between the lines, it sounds like the FAA maybe did not trust CBP to "test" operate the high powered laser near civilian aviation, in part given that they mistakenly identified a balloon for a cartel drone.
  - nixosbestos 7mo ago
    [flagged]
    - bigbuppo 7mo ago
      Well generally speaking you don't want air traffic controllers falling asleep at the job.
      - marky1991 7mo ago
        How dare you speak for the rest of us.
      - asdff 7mo ago
        Sounds a little ableist to me
- esseph 7mo ago
  I am not sure how much the average person realizes that drones in both a reconnaissance and observation role or an attack role have changed the nature of warfare and have threatened localities. We don't have good tools to deal with them, especially groups. It would be trivial, right now, for a few fpv drones to cause extreme chaos somewhere like a popular highway in Los Angeles, and the amount of economic damage that could do. It's a technological shift in how warfare is conducted, but from a protection standpoint, the tools aren't great to counter them yet.
deleted 7mo ago
[deleted]

> Who among us hasn’t, at some point, mistaken a party balloon for a cartel drone? Let him cast the first stone.

esseph 7mo ago

It's a shame the F-22 wasn't publicly allowed to get its second A2A kill! ;)

toast0 7mo ago
Fyi, the f-22 logged a second kill shortly after the first: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flyi...
- duskwuff 7mo ago
  Which is generally believed to have been a radiosonde launched by hobbyists in the US: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1158048921/pico-balloon-k9yo https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1158048921/pico-balloon-k9yo

throwup238 7mo ago

I once mistook a Scottish lake monster for a narcosub, but can’t say I’ve ever mistaken a party balloon for a narcodrone.

joe_mamba 7mo ago

Firstly, how is the world's most powerful military afraid of "cartel drones"? Don't they already have some sci-fi laser/EW gizmos to take care of those considering how much taxpayer dollars go to the defense sector? Secondly, contrary to popular belief, cartel leaders are smart enough to know not to directly mess with and attract the wrath of the US military when that's not good for their core business.

jeffbee 7mo ago
The laser gizmo is central to this story.
milesskorpen 7mo ago
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the FAA maybe did not trust CBP to "test" operate the high powered laser near civilian aviation, in part given that they mistakenly identified a balloon for a cartel drone.
- nixosbestos 7mo ago
  [flagged]
  - bigbuppo 7mo ago
    Well generally speaking you don't want air traffic controllers falling asleep at the job.
    - marky1991 7mo ago
      How dare you speak for the rest of us.
    - asdff 7mo ago
      Sounds a little ableist to me
esseph 7mo ago
I am not sure how much the average person realizes that drones in both a reconnaissance and observation role or an attack role have changed the nature of warfare and have threatened localities. We don't have good tools to deal with them, especially groups. It would be trivial, right now, for a few fpv drones to cause extreme chaos somewhere like a popular highway in Los Angeles, and the amount of economic damage that could do. It's a technological shift in how warfare is conducted, but from a protection standpoint, the tools aren't great to counter them yet.

deleted 7mo ago

[deleted]