“According to the Secret Service, the drone system was supposed to be operational at 3 p.m. that day. However, we’ve been told by Secret Service that because of cellular bandwidth problems, it wasn’t operational until about 5:20 p.m. of that day. If the system was operational, Secret Service would have had the ability to detect the shooter and his own drone use,” Grassley said. “Why is the Secret Service dependent upon local cellular network? Does the Secret Service have a backup plan in place?”
i call BS. You don’t need WiFi or cellular data to use your drone’s GPS features,
In testimony today Rowe stated SS declined request from local LE to fly drones.
The senate hearing is really good. Senators are raking this guy over the coals
Anyway, maybe the Secret Service should hire this kid to run their drone program. He seems to have his act together.
How often do ‘connectivity’ problems arise in SS drone operations? And why are they using the cell network for bandwidth, when normal drones connect directly between handset and drone?
Like so many other reasons given for failures this day, this reason also stinks, although some context would be nice.
Certain drones have the ability to neutralize an enemy.
It doesn't make too much sense of a sniper round taking him out. His head would have seen much more damage and there would have been a spray of blood and pieces of his skull in a fan pattern - rather than a stream going straight down the channel he was laying in, with all other channels clean.
If anything comes up negative on the preflight, you don’t fly until it’s fixed.
Military drones typically use RF data links. If the Secret Service is placing the protection of the president in the hands of Alibaba bargain basement specials, perhaps that should be reviewed?
If might be that the USSS drone depends on the poor coverage of FirstNet (AT&T government cellular) where the shooter’s drone operates soley on WiFi type comms.
Excuse doesn’t make sense.
Thats’s ridiculous...
On the news last night, the amount of protection given by federal agencies was reported.
One of the assets is a drone that has the ability to jam control signals of private drones flown in no-fly areas over the festivities. They are forced down.
I know this is a huge community festival and larger scale than a campaign rally. None the less, why wasn't even a simple drone, let alone one as capable as the one in Seattle, flown over the rally of a major national political candidate who happens also to be a former US president?
Where is the autopsy report??
This post needs the Church Lady “How Convenient” meme.
More lies from these people. Someone in the hearings should stand up and call them LIARS.
Gee! Even a Black Falcon 4k can be had for less than $150. With a government that is running budgets of over 1000 billion dollars, you’d think they could carve out a few thousand dollars for drones.
The SS continues to show what a clown show its leadership has become.
Spare Drone ? Did anyone else try a drone, either the PSP or Butler ?
They didn’t want to interfere with assassin drones