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The Night A Mysterious Drone Swarm Descended On Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant
thedrive.com/the-war-zone ^ | Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick

Posted on 07/31/2020 4:19:48 AM PDT by RoosterRedux

While the news has been filled with claims that strange unidentified craft with unexplainable capabilities are appearing over highly sensitive U.S. installations and assets as of late, a much less glamorous, more numerous, and arguably far more pressing threat has continued to metastasize in alarming ways—that posed by lower-end and even off-the-shelf drones. Less than a year ago and just days after the stunning drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's most critical energy production infrastructure deep in the heart of that highly defended country, a bizarre and largely undisclosed incident involving a swarm of drones occurred on successive September evenings in 2019. The location? America's most powerful nuclear plant, the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station situated roughly two dozen miles west of Phoenix, near Tonopah, Arizona.

In a trove of documents and internal correspondences related to the event, officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) described the incident as a "drone-a-palooza" and said that it highlighted concerns about the potential for a future "adversarial attack" involving small unmanned aircraft and the need for defenses against them. Even so, the helplessness and even cavalier attitude toward the drone incident as it was unfolding by those that are tasked with securing one of America's largest and most sensitive nuclear facilities serves as an alarming and glaring example of how neglected and misunderstood this issue is.

(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 07/31/2020 4:19:48 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: All
Meant to add this paragraph to the excerpt - Oops...
These events are occurring as lower-end and lower-performance unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have become weaponized to increasingly remarkable degree in recent years. Even those built-in sheds in the middle of warzones have been employed with not only deadly, but also a highly disruptive effects. As we mentioned a moment ago, drones have even inflicted major damage to one of the world's richest and most heavily defended country's cash cow—oil production. They have also been used in an attempt to assassinate a country's ruler. And yes, the potential for them to be used for similar purposes exists right here in the United States, as well.

2 posted on 07/31/2020 4:21:41 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: RoosterRedux

Defend with autonomous hunter-killer drones. What could possibly go wrong?

Love, SkyNet


3 posted on 07/31/2020 4:46:25 AM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Sorry, your race card has been declined. Can you present any other form of argument?")
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To: RoosterRedux

With the antigun antiproperty faa forbidding shooting peeping Tom’s drones, this is only going to get worse


4 posted on 07/31/2020 4:46:42 AM PDT by JudgemAll (Democrats Fed. job-security in hates:hypocrites must be gay like us or be tested/crucified)
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To: RoosterRedux

Does the military an industrial sized shotgun type weapon to use on these thing?

Or a directional damping field.

I keep getting ads for a waterproof intelligent drone for $30. I could probably negotiate a swarm of 50 for a grand.


5 posted on 07/31/2020 4:57:49 AM PDT by freedumb2003 ("Do not mistake activity for achievement." - John Wooden)
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To: RoosterRedux

ping


6 posted on 07/31/2020 5:26:46 AM PDT by Patriot_MP (Of the Troops, For the Troops - US of A Always. Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: freedumb2003

Intelligent drones? Now figure out a way to zap the unintelligent human drones that are causing all the the trouble with them.


7 posted on 07/31/2020 5:27:07 AM PDT by oldasrocks
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To: RoosterRedux

” Even so, the helplessness and even cavalier attitude toward the drone incident as it was unfolding by those that are tasked with securing one of America’s largest and most sensitive nuclear facilities serves as an alarming and glaring example of how neglected and misunderstood this issue is.”

Attitude of our military and government: “Since we haven’t been attacked yet in this way, why all the fuss”

Pretty much the same with the EMP threat, or China.


8 posted on 07/31/2020 5:27:45 AM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here)
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To: NonValueAdded

No problem. They’ll probably take over the world. Or destroy it. Probably both.


9 posted on 07/31/2020 5:55:07 AM PDT by Theophilous Meatyard III
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To: RoosterRedux

Why can’t a drone swarm be disabled by jamming?


10 posted on 07/31/2020 5:58:49 AM PDT by kickstart ("A gun is a tool. It is only as good or as bad as the man who uses it" . Alan Ladd in 'Shane')
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To: kickstart

That was my thought. Would the drones by default then simply return to origin?

Is there a portable radar system that could spot something like that?


11 posted on 07/31/2020 6:11:54 AM PDT by meatloaf
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To: meatloaf

“ Would the drones by default then simply return to origin?”

Better yet, send a drone of our own back to the signal with a nice surprise.


12 posted on 07/31/2020 6:57:44 AM PDT by jdsteel (Americans are Dreamers too!!!)
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Comment #13 Removed by Moderator

To: RoosterRedux

A drone isn’t going to be enough to crack that containment done.

Hell there are videos out there where a retired F4 Phantom was launched at high speed into a mock up of a containment dome, and the plane pretty much got liquefied.


14 posted on 07/31/2020 11:17:29 AM PDT by 2CAVTrooper (Political Science degrees, so easy Obama has one.)
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To: 2CAVTrooper

I wouldn’t be worried about the containment dome. I would worry more about the electrical switch yard that is a part of the plant. Drones equipped with spools of wire could be used to short out conductors and cause the units to trip. Could even attack the switches or transformers themselves with flammables or explosives. It might not do any permanent damage but it could take the plant offline for several days.


15 posted on 07/31/2020 11:26:16 AM PDT by Fellow Traveler
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