“Not Like Any Other” Drone
Runaway1956 writes:
Police Helicopter Crew Says Mysterious Craft They Chased Was "Not Like Any Other" Drone:
In February 2021, what was described as a "highly modified drone" was able to evade and outrun helicopters operated by both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Tucson Police Department (TPD) after entering sensitive airspace. An FBI investigation was announced shortly after, in which the bureau sought the public's help for information related to the case. The War Zone has now obtained the TPD's official Case Summary Report from the incident, which shows the air crews aboard the two helicopters that chased the drone were mystified by the capabilities it displayed.
The drone was first spotted above fuel tanks just west of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and flew into controlled airspace surrounding the base and Tucson International Airport after the TPD and CBP helicopters began their pursuit. The law enforcement helicopters followed the drone northwest out of the city before losing it in the clouds around 14,000 feet. The CBP was operating an Airbus AS350 on the night of the incident, while sources close to the investigation tell us the Tucson PD Air Support was flying a Bell 206B-3 Jet Ranger.
[...] The story of the mysterious drone encounter above Tucson was first broken by Dan Marries of KOLD News, a local CBS affiliate out of Tucson.
Marries shared details about the drone with The War Zone following our initial reporting, telling us that the FBI agents involved with the case said that the drone was reported to be "highly modified," made "erratic maneuvers," and even strayed into military airspace while reaching an altitude of 14,000 feet and maintaining speeds in excess of 100 mph into a headwind. In an interview on KOLD, an FBI agent familiar with the case reported that they FBI isn't sure if the drone was a quadcopter or hexcopter configuration.
See, also: Update: Tucson copter cop says mysterious, 'sophisticated' super-drone 'like no other'
We all want one of these, right?
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