Military take over

[JD1964]

I had a friend tell me he knew somebody who flew their drone above restricted altitude limits in close proximity to a military base. He said somehow the military took over control of the drone and commandeered it. Is this possible? Have you ever heard of it happening?

 

[mavic3usa]

Aeroscope - DJI

DJI AeroScope is able to identify the vast majority of popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their electronic signals to gain critical information, allowing users to protect the integrity of their flight-sensitive environment.

www.dji.com

 

[naturekid]

Aeroscope - DJI

DJI AeroScope is able to identify the vast majority of popular drones on the market today by monitoring and analyzing their electronic signals to gain critical information, allowing users to protect the integrity of their flight-sensitive environment.

www.dji.com

But can they "take over"?

 

[waynorth]

What they can do is jam the GNSS (GPS) signals to confuse the drones.

 

[Starz]

Have you ever heard of it happening?

No.

 

[spsphotos]

What makes you think they took control of the drone? Did it force land?

 

[mavic3usa]

But can they "take over"?

Prob not but it sure feels like it to the pilot.

 

[JD1964]

What makes you think they took control of the drone? Did it force land?

It’s hearsay. It’s only what someone told me

 

[JD1964]

What makes you think they took control of the drone? Did it force land?

Oh sorry I didn’t answer that completely. He said at some point while operating illegally in restricted airspace that drone just flew away towards the military base and he never saw it again. So, the idea that it was “taken over” is a presumption.

 

[Meta4]

Oh sorry I didn’t answer that completely. He said at some point while operating illegally in restricted airspace that drone just flew away towards the military base and he never saw it again. So, the idea that it was “taken over” is a presumption.

Lots of flyers get confused about flight incidents they don't understand.
The way to find out what actually happened is to examine the recorded flight data.
Without data, there's no way to tell whether his drone was really taken over or if he just lost it to wind or some other mundane issue.

 

[Aairon]

Your imagination got taken over by fantasy.

 

[JD1964]

Your imagination got taken over by fantasy.

It wasn’t my story. I just shared it out of curiosity to see if it could actually happen

 

[Aairon]

It wasn’t my story. I just shared it out of curiosity to see if it could actually happen

Of internet I forgot, land of non facts! and open speculation and mad guesses lol.

 

[JD1964]

Of internet I forgot, land of non facts! and open speculation and mad guesses lol.

Well, actually a real person told me the story, face to face.

 

[GFields]

Please stay on topic.
Keep politics and religion out of the discussion.

 

[MS Coast]

Well, actually a real person told me the story, face to face.

"I had a friend tell me he knew somebody who flew their drone ..."

It's at best a second-hand report originating from an unknown source. We hear all sorts of stories explaining how people lost their drones. This one is at least a bit more imaginative than "the wind caught it" or "it decided to fly away."

But your question is reasonable. I'll cast a vote on the side of doubting that taking over control of a drone is likely to be possible.

 

[MiniSEPilot2022]

I heard an anecdote years ago that an Israeli Air Force drone was “commandeered” and the Israeli Air Force freaked out because it was heading to a major city… until it turned to the coast and loitered over a very packed public beach. Turned out the “terrorists” were just hackers who wanted to see scantily-clad sights.

 

[MS Coast]

I heard an anecdote years ago that an Israeli Air Force drone was “commandeered” and the Israeli Air Force freaked out because it was heading to a major city… until it turned to the coast and loitered over a very packed public beach. Turned out the “terrorists” were just hackers who wanted to see scantily-clad sights.

Uh-huh. And Bigfoot and a couple of three-armed alien beings were the voyeurs at the controls.

 

[RangerEd]

What they can do is jam the GNSS (GPS) signals to confuse the drones.

Even the military can't jam any frequency or interfere with the operation of any equipment using RF in the US. The RF spectrum is totally controlled by the FCC.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Actually, there's a private company that makes just such a product that can do exactly what the OP claims. The King of DJI hacking who's internet handle I've forgotten, worked for them and discussed this on the DJI hacking Slack channel. These were the days of Phantoms and the then new foldable Mavic Pro.

I've been out of the loop hacking for about 4 years now and have forgotten the names of the major players. Anyone still active on Slack in the hacking group that can jog my memory? This device may no longer be available since DJI really locked down the firmware from jailbreaking.