Forest Service buys flying drones to help find marijuana growers

[EasyBakeIndica]

Forest Service buys flying drones to help find marijuana growers​

Associated Press - April 3, 2008 2:44 PM ET

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service has purchased a pair of flying drones to track down marijuana cultivators operating in remote California woodlands.

Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees the Forest Service, tells The Associated Press the pilotless aircraft will allow agency law enforcement officers to pinpoint marijuana fields and size up potential dangers before agents make arrests.

Rey says there is an increasing number of marijuana growers financed by Mexican drug cartels who are using California's national forests to stage their operations.

The SkySeer drones cost $100,000 each and weigh only four pounds. They were delivered to the Forest Service's aviation branch in Montana before being shipped to California.

One of the drones is equipped with a thermal camera for nighttime flights.

http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=8114003&nav=menu227_7

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

Skyseer UAV

Skyseer UAV

Video: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/uavs-skyseer/3500913679​

 

[Guest]

hmm doesn't look like it would take much to take one of those down lol

 

[Guest]

^^^^LOL...Can't wait to hear the 1st report on that one....

TriGG

 

[uno408]

for reals.......lol

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

im not one to even agree with the MDC(mex drug cartels) growing the forests, but i think you guys are right about these getting shot down real fast. i bet a 12 guage or a AK/rifle might just do it. depends on how high they fly.

 

[river rat01]

shit, a paintball gun on full auto could take one of those mosquito's down.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

shit you could knock that fucking flimsy looking thing outta the sky with a damned catapult and half a dozen M5 nuts fired in one go grape shot style lol
wait til you see all the hemp fabric "Barrage Balloons" floating above the forest lol....
dont even need to shoot the bastard dpwn.... all the big forest growers just buy radio controlled helis, and when this fucker appears ram the twat

 

[RudolfTheRed]

The two SkySeer drones cost a combined $100,000 and weigh only four pounds each. They were delivered to the Forest Service's aviation branch in Montana and are awaiting shipment to California.

Waste of fucking money. Where I am from we've had some of the highest poverty rates in the country yet no one wants to help them out but most people (other than us, lol) wont complain when their tax dollars are wasted on shit like this.

these police agencies are already over worked in the California so much that they leave some grows alone because the just dont have the man power to get them all. i don't see these dinky ass planes doing much.

 

[twojoints]

i just watched a show where they claim millions of underage girls are sexually trafficked everyday. can these stupid fuckin toy planes help those in REAL need?

 

[FrankRizzo]

$100,000 target for target practice, good work u.s. government....Pull!

 

[Maj.PotHead]

i'll bet this thing will fly high enough it's not seen or herd yall really dont think the feds took into consideration. that ppl will shoot them down if seen that thing flyn 3-5k ft above ground isnt gonna be seen or herd. let alone be taken down even by my 12 gauge shot gun sks or even my bros 300 wynn mag and 12x scope. look at the 1 pic closely with duder above it what wingspan 5ft body maybe 4ft. these things will be over every major city in 10 yrs watch and see my town is looking into them also.


FYI these things have been used for few yrs over canada border and mexican border

 

[Guest]

We are all FUCKED!!! Can this thing detect in a GreenHouse how about flir?

 

[RudolfTheRed]

I don't know how people will shoot these fuckers down if their flown at night and they use FLIR to detect patches.

 

[Guest]

lol if i see one in sc im shooting some high frequency directional radio waves!!!!

 

[Harry Gypsna]

I was watching future weapons on discovery last week-and theyve actually got a hoverdrone-flying sauver type thingy with a fan in the middle-vertical take off-just like the fucking things on the Sci-fi show Dark Angel(aahh Jessica) and it isnt just for military-its for LEO too.
just imagine those things flying round-with facial recognition software and automatic vehicle numberplate recognition software.... satellite link and all kinds of cameras on all angles... Its horrifying
It makes me sick to think how bad the surveilance society will be and how far into orwells vison we will have slipped in just the next decade.
Itll be tracking and id chips like youd get for ur dog next

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Rather than try to shoot it down in the air, take a leaf out of Curtis Warren's book, go for the hangar......

Back in the 80's when Curtis Warren was just a smalltime criminal, his gang "invented" the ram raid concept and had great success around the Merseyside [Liverpool, Manchester] area.... until the Cops got a chopper and very nearly caught some of the gang as they sped around in a stolen car full of stolen goods. Incensed by this, Curtis and friends simply turned up en masse at the heliport, cut through the fence and torched the chopper. Game Over.

If these keep on getting wasted as soon as they are deployed, they will not buy and more, if they work without problems, they sky will be full and it could be very bad times ahead for all outdoor MJ growers.

 

[Plastic]

Just need to get ahold of the manufacturer and find out what frequency range they operate in. Pay a visit to radioshack for a cheap transmitter / receiver. Spin and grin until you find the signal and jam it. BAM! 100,000.00 worth of litter on someones lawn. Imagine the lawsuit if it hits someones cat on the way down.

Or do like Chaos said and hit the hangar, pillage them for some nifty neet-o xmas gifts.

Imagine the horror if a group of professional rippers or rogue cops got ahold of these things..... *shudder*

 

[Bud Meister]

To be honest I would think they would have already jumped on this technology. I would not be supprized to see larger local LE agencies start useing UAVs. Many use a robot for EOD units already.

Wonder when they will be used to fly weed into the US?

 

[LiLWaynE]

Looks like im buying me a new toy...