No, it’s not a good idea to shoot at New Jersey’s ‘mystery drone’

Why shooting New Jersey’s ‘mystery drone’ is a bad idea

Written by Lee Billings

As reports of mysterious drones flying over the northeastern United States proliferate, so too does the seemingly common-sense response: “Well, why not shoot them down?”

The sightings, which reportedly began over northern New Jersey about a month ago, have now spread to surrounding states, including New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and have been reported to have satisfied local, state and federal authorities. Many people have questions because they don’t seem to have answers. Civil servants and ordinary citizens alike feel dissatisfied and powerless. In response, a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers began demanding: More proactive measures. Even President-elect Donald Trump weighed in, real social posts Last Friday, he argued that in the absence of a proper explanation from the government, the next step should be to “shoot them down!!!”

Dear reader, you run the risk of being seen as politically biased or “participating” in various policies. Drone-related conspiracy theoriesit is our duty to inform you that attempting to shoot down one of these unidentified flying objects is a truly terrifying idea. Please stop—and do not have Because if a “drone” were a messenger from an alien super-civilization, shooting a drone could be interpreted as an act of interstellar warfare.

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Here’s why:

Many of these “drones” aren’t drones at all

Although some of the sightings are almost certainly real drones being operated by unknown parties for unclear reasons, According to the FBImost of the thousands of drone reports in New Jersey are consistent with witnesses misidentifying manned aircraft. “When we overlay the sightings reported to the FBI with the approach patterns at Newark Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia airports, the density of reported sightings is much higher than at these highly congested airports, where planes arrive throughout the night. consistent with the approach pattern of the airport,” FBI officials said. He said this at a White House media briefing on Saturday. “This modeling shows that manned aviation is frequently mistaken for unmanned aviation or UAS. [uncrewed aerial systems]”

To illustrate how easy it is for most people to make this kind of mistake, look no further than New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim. He met with officials at Round Valley Reservoir last Thursday night to see the phenomenon firsthand. Kim and his fellow observers There were multiple sightingsmuch of which was captured on video. However, a more detailed analysis revealed that the potential drone was actually just an airplane. usefully explained in a series of social media posts. Similarly, the next day, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Posted The night before, dozens of drones flew over my home. Apparently everyone was like that was subsequently identified It is similar to ordinary celestial bodies such as Mars and the bright star Sirius.

Physics is not on our side, what goes up must come down

Sure, taking potshots at another planet from your backyard may seem harmless. Bullets, slugs, and pellets cannot reach escape velocity, much less travel through interplanetary space to reach distant targets. But precisely because we cannot break the earth’s inhospitable bonds, all ballistic projectiles launched upwards fall to the surface, where they can easily cause an accident. can cause very real and potentially deadly harm.

Of course, firing at actual objects flying through Earth’s atmosphere is also a risky proposition. In this case in particular, there have been numerous reports of apparent misidentification of manned aircraft flying at relatively low altitudes and speeds after takeoff or during landing approaches at nearby airports. Generally speaking, while such situations favor a hit with conventional firearms, the probability of a hit is still low, but for example, a rifle bullet hitting a commercial airliner as it is about to land. Would you like to be in charge of Newark?

If you’re particularly knowledgeable about physics, you might consider firing something faster and more seemingly harmless, like a laser beam, at the suspected drone. However, while most lasers do not puncture the fuselage, they can confuse aircraft crews and unmanned vehicle sensors, creating a dangerous situation. (And, sadly, there seems to be a spate of reports from drones. already caused This type of laser-based “glare” on aircraft flying over New Jersey is likely due to people on the ground aiming laser pointers at the aircraft. ) Besides lasers, other electromagnetic effects such as bursts of radio waves can also confuse aircraft navigation systems. Often used in military-grade drone jamming technology. However, they can also have dangerous consequences.

Via bullets or photons, in the worst case, such an external influence could cause an aircraft (be it a plane full of passengers or some kind of secret drone) to crash in an uncontrollable descent. This effectively turns what was most likely a safe but creepy object in the sky into a fuel-laden (or battery-laden) missile that plummets towards the ground, causing other objects to fly in flight. It would turn into a real threat, with the potential to collide with aircraft and create sparks. There will be a fire where it falls.

The law is not on your side either.

With all these very real risks, criminal offense In the United States, it is prohibited to intercept, damage, or destroy aircraft flown by civilians, even if they are unidentified and traveling over private property. and shoot a gun into the sky usually illegalis also considered “reckless discharge of a firearm.”

Therefore, do not try to shoot down the drone. At least leave such work to the authorities. Meanwhile, consider becoming more familiar with the wonders of the night sky, whether natural or man-made. It turns out that most of them are quite beautiful and not at all threatening.