It's a drone world.
Law enforcement and military forces around the world are going all in on these unmanned flying vehicles, which have become standard equipment for investigating and even attacking enemies and invaders.
From the forests of Eastern Europe to the mountains of the American West in Colorado, all we hear is drones.
There are drones everywhere.
On the European battlefield, drones have long been the warfighter's 'ace up their sleeve' – from small FPV quadcopters to large lethal aircraft such as the American Predator, Russian Lancet, Iranian Shahed or Turkish Bayraktar drones.
Now, as the war in Ukraine progresses, six NATO countries have agreed to build a 'drone wall' along their border to defend themselves against what they see as a Russian threat.
The Telegraph reported:
“Norway, Poland and Finland will work with the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) to prevent Russian aggression, including the forced relocation of migrants across their borders.
'This is something completely new. ‘Drone border from Norway to Poland’, Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told broadcaster Baltic News Service. ''This will enable us to protect ourselves from provocations by unfriendly countries.''
EU countries bordering Russia have become increasingly anxious that an emboldened President Vladimir Putin will turn to them once the war in Ukraine ends.
“In anticipation, Poland spent billions of dollars upgrading its border defenses with Belarus, Estonia built a network of border military bunkers and Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, joined NATO.
Last year, Finland had to close its border crossing with Russia after the Kremlin sent migrants from Asia across the border on bicycles. Finnish officials say Moscow is weaponizing migration to destabilize Europe.”
The 'drone wall' is still being planned and negotiated, and the deal signed at the weekend is just one part of a wider approach to counter the 'Russian threat'.
“'We agreed to hold regional exercises to ensure the evacuation of residents and to find out how our institutions are prepared to work and interact with each other', [Lithuanian Minister Bilotaite] said.”
Since the war began, Russia has been strengthening its military capabilities along its borders with European Union (EU) countries, including moving nuclear missiles to Belarus.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, local law enforcement agencies in Colorado, including the Denver Police Department (DPD), 'We are planning to start dispatching drones instead of police officers to respond to 911 calls.'.
Fox News reported:
“‘Whether we like it or not, this is really the future of law enforcement at some point,’” Sgt. Jeremiah Gates, who leads the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office's drone unit. said Denver Post.
At least 20 agencies in Colorado's Front Range are already using drone technology for specific tasks, including searching for missing people, tracking fleeing suspects, mapping crime scenes and providing overhead surveillance during SWAT operations. Now, the sheriff’s office is considering using drones to respond to some 911 calls, in situations where drones could provide useful information at incident scenes before police are deployed.”
It will also help filter out calls that do not require police intervention.
“‘I could fly a drone over (a reported suspicious vehicle) and say, ‘Hey, that vehicle isn’t in the right place,’ and I wouldn’t have to send a police officer to bother them and that would solve the problem.’, Gates told the Denver Post: ‘It’s about saving resources.’”
Of course, I'm sure there will be legal issues with this approach. The Denver Police Department shelved its only drone in 2018, citing constitutional concerns.
But now they plan to expand their drone program using a $100,000 grant from the Denver Police Foundation.
“‘The long-term scope of what we’re trying to do is drones as first responders,’” Phil Gonshak, the department’s director of strategic initiatives, told The Denver Post. 'Basically, by having a station at the top of each district, we can respond with drones to any critical needs or emergencies that arise throughout the city.'
'We will not simply replace the police's response to calls for service,' he continued. 'DPD will respond to any call for service where someone physically asks an officer at the scene. “But if there was a fight in Colfax and Cherokee and we got the drone in the air and there was no fight and it wasn’t causing any traffic issues, we would route the police to other emergency calls.”