FAA could not identify origin of CO-NE-KS "mystery drones," FOIA probe reveals
nivek
As Above So Below
Apparently there have been many more drone incursions...
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Dozens More Mystery Drone Incursions Over U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Revealed
By David Hambling
I recently described how a swarm of drones flew in a restricted area at Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant on two successive nights last September. A new cache of documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) reveals how 24 nuclear sites suffered at least 57 drone incursions from 2015 to 2019 – and Palo Verde itself was overflown again in December, despite new security measures.
The documents were obtained from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Douglas D. Johnson on behalf of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU). The SCU’s main interest is in anomalous aerospace phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, but Johnson uncovered a series of incidents involving something less exotic but potentially more threatening: commercial drones.
In the September incidents, a swarm of five or six large drones flew over the Unit 3 nuclear reactor at Palo Verde in Arizona for about eighty minutes, a length of time which suggested they were carrying out a thorough survey of the site. The documents released at the time referred to a similar incident at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania.
Johnson sent a follow-up request to get more details. The response was a terse list of fifty-seven security incidents (SIDs) involving drones, running from December 2014 to October 2019. This provides little more than the date and location, with no details of the number or type of drones involved. We do not know how many involved multiple, simultaneous drone flyovers. At the time the list was generated, three of the incidents were listed as ‘Open’ and five ‘Closed Resolved.’ but the overwhelming majority, 49 of them, were ‘Closed Unresolved.’ This indicates that for 85% of the cases the NRC has no idea who the perpetrators are or what they intended, and has given up on finding them.
(Much more on the link)
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...
Dozens More Mystery Drone Incursions Over U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Revealed
By David Hambling
I recently described how a swarm of drones flew in a restricted area at Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant on two successive nights last September. A new cache of documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) reveals how 24 nuclear sites suffered at least 57 drone incursions from 2015 to 2019 – and Palo Verde itself was overflown again in December, despite new security measures.
The documents were obtained from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Douglas D. Johnson on behalf of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU). The SCU’s main interest is in anomalous aerospace phenomena, more commonly known as UFOs, but Johnson uncovered a series of incidents involving something less exotic but potentially more threatening: commercial drones.
In the September incidents, a swarm of five or six large drones flew over the Unit 3 nuclear reactor at Palo Verde in Arizona for about eighty minutes, a length of time which suggested they were carrying out a thorough survey of the site. The documents released at the time referred to a similar incident at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania.
Johnson sent a follow-up request to get more details. The response was a terse list of fifty-seven security incidents (SIDs) involving drones, running from December 2014 to October 2019. This provides little more than the date and location, with no details of the number or type of drones involved. We do not know how many involved multiple, simultaneous drone flyovers. At the time the list was generated, three of the incidents were listed as ‘Open’ and five ‘Closed Resolved.’ but the overwhelming majority, 49 of them, were ‘Closed Unresolved.’ This indicates that for 85% of the cases the NRC has no idea who the perpetrators are or what they intended, and has given up on finding them.
(Much more on the link)
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nivek
As Above So Below
Modified drone was used to launch attack on Pennsylvania electricity substation in first known targeted attack on energy infrastructure, Homeland Security says
A modified commercial drone may have been responsible for an attempted attack on a Pennsylvania power substation last year, the first reported case of a drone assault on the U.S.'s energy infrastructure.
Authorities believe a DJI Mavic 2 drone with a thick copper wire tethered to it was found in June 2020 was likely intended to disrupt operations 'by creating a short circuit to cause damage to transformers or distribution lines,' according to a joint intelligence bulletin from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center released October 28.
If the wire had come into contact with any of the power plant's high-voltage equipment it could have resulted in a short circuit, power failure or even a fire, according to New Scientist.
The Drive reported the drone was recovered by authorities from a substation near Hershey, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from Philadelphia. No groups has claimed responsibility: The device's camera and internal memory card had been removed and identifying labels were removed, in a likely attempt to obscure its origins.
DJI Mavic 2 drones are available to the public online for less than $2,000. The DIY device is similar in basic concept to technology that has been deployed by the military.
The drone, or unidentified aerial system (UAS) was recovered by authorities near an electrical substation outside Hershey, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from Philadelphia.
In 1999, the U.S. Air Force used cluster bombs to scatter conductive filaments over electrical equipment, disabling most of Serbia's electrical grid during the Kosovo War. (A similar technique was used during the first Gulf War to create blackouts in Iraq.)
According to the bulletin, 'This is the first known instance of a modified UAS [unmanned aerial system] likely being used in the United States to specifically target energy infrastructure.'
'To date, no operator has been identified and we are producing this assessment now to expand awareness of this event to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement and security partners who may encounter similarly modified UAS,' it read.
While this is the first attempt on an energy utility reported by federal authorities, a swarm of five or six large drones flew in a restricted area at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Tonopah, Arizona, two nights in a row September 2019, David Hambling, author of Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer the World, reported in a 2020 Forbes article.
According to documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, the swarm flew over the Unit 3 nuclear reactor at Palo Verde for about 80 minutes. The files referred to a similar incident at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In all, the FOIA documents, which were requested by the Scientific Coalition for UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) Studies, revealed that between 2015 to 2019, two dozen U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel storage sites suffered 57 known drone incursions.
That includes another flyby at Palo Verde in December 2019, even though the station was supposedly protected by newly installed drone detection technology. Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, California, reported seven separate incursions between December 2015 and September 2018, according to the Drive.
'Counter-terrorism defenses largely assume a ground-based attacker,' Zak Kallenborn at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, told New Scientist. 'Hence the fences and bollards everywhere.'
'The defenses are obsolete if terrorists can take to the air,' Kallenborn added. 'Drones are cheap, and easy to use. Critical infrastructure facilities need to worry about attacks from any direction.'
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission marked 85 percent of these drone incidents as 'unresolved,' but closed the cases anyway. While the attack on the Pennsylvania substation doesn't appear to have been successful, autonomous drones may have already attacked and killed humans.
In 2020, rebels in Libya were bombarded by 'unmanned combat aerial vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons systems,' according to a United Nations report released this May. Kargu-2 quadcopter drones can be operated manually but in this encounter they appeared to have no human operators and were relying on-board cameras and machine-learning to target enemies. Fatalities were not confirmed but the drones carry explosive charges and similar systems have caused 'significant casualties' in other encounters.
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A modified commercial drone may have been responsible for an attempted attack on a Pennsylvania power substation last year, the first reported case of a drone assault on the U.S.'s energy infrastructure.
Authorities believe a DJI Mavic 2 drone with a thick copper wire tethered to it was found in June 2020 was likely intended to disrupt operations 'by creating a short circuit to cause damage to transformers or distribution lines,' according to a joint intelligence bulletin from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center released October 28.
If the wire had come into contact with any of the power plant's high-voltage equipment it could have resulted in a short circuit, power failure or even a fire, according to New Scientist.
The Drive reported the drone was recovered by authorities from a substation near Hershey, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from Philadelphia. No groups has claimed responsibility: The device's camera and internal memory card had been removed and identifying labels were removed, in a likely attempt to obscure its origins.
DJI Mavic 2 drones are available to the public online for less than $2,000. The DIY device is similar in basic concept to technology that has been deployed by the military.
The drone, or unidentified aerial system (UAS) was recovered by authorities near an electrical substation outside Hershey, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from Philadelphia.
In 1999, the U.S. Air Force used cluster bombs to scatter conductive filaments over electrical equipment, disabling most of Serbia's electrical grid during the Kosovo War. (A similar technique was used during the first Gulf War to create blackouts in Iraq.)
According to the bulletin, 'This is the first known instance of a modified UAS [unmanned aerial system] likely being used in the United States to specifically target energy infrastructure.'
'To date, no operator has been identified and we are producing this assessment now to expand awareness of this event to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement and security partners who may encounter similarly modified UAS,' it read.
While this is the first attempt on an energy utility reported by federal authorities, a swarm of five or six large drones flew in a restricted area at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Tonopah, Arizona, two nights in a row September 2019, David Hambling, author of Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer the World, reported in a 2020 Forbes article.
According to documents obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, the swarm flew over the Unit 3 nuclear reactor at Palo Verde for about 80 minutes. The files referred to a similar incident at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In all, the FOIA documents, which were requested by the Scientific Coalition for UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) Studies, revealed that between 2015 to 2019, two dozen U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel storage sites suffered 57 known drone incursions.
That includes another flyby at Palo Verde in December 2019, even though the station was supposedly protected by newly installed drone detection technology. Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, California, reported seven separate incursions between December 2015 and September 2018, according to the Drive.
'Counter-terrorism defenses largely assume a ground-based attacker,' Zak Kallenborn at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, told New Scientist. 'Hence the fences and bollards everywhere.'
'The defenses are obsolete if terrorists can take to the air,' Kallenborn added. 'Drones are cheap, and easy to use. Critical infrastructure facilities need to worry about attacks from any direction.'
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission marked 85 percent of these drone incidents as 'unresolved,' but closed the cases anyway. While the attack on the Pennsylvania substation doesn't appear to have been successful, autonomous drones may have already attacked and killed humans.
In 2020, rebels in Libya were bombarded by 'unmanned combat aerial vehicles and lethal autonomous weapons systems,' according to a United Nations report released this May. Kargu-2 quadcopter drones can be operated manually but in this encounter they appeared to have no human operators and were relying on-board cameras and machine-learning to target enemies. Fatalities were not confirmed but the drones carry explosive charges and similar systems have caused 'significant casualties' in other encounters.
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