the proliferation of small drones: trends, implications ... · 5 the proliferation of small drones:...

The Proliferation of Small Drones:

Trends, Implications and Recommendations

For Singapore

By ME6 David Bey, MAJ Sim Bao Chen and

ME5 Ng Wei Rong

March 2020

The Proliferation of Small Drones: Trends, Implications and Recommendations For Singapore

1

TRENDS, IMPLICATIONS AND

By: ME6 David Bey, MAJ Sim Bao Chen & ME5 Ng Wei Rong

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors first accounted for how Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have developed over

time, before describing the current trends in the development of UAVs and the potential for UAVs in the modern

context. The authors then discussed the various threats that UAVs pose to Singapore’s national security and

sovereignty. They suggested several additional recommendations for Singapore to address the challenges of

managing UAVs, but concluded by highlighting the potential of UAVs to be utilised to augment the Republic of

Singapore Air Force (RSAF) operations.

Keywords: UAVs; Small Drones; 4th Industrial Revolution; Regulations; National Security

INTRODUCTION

Unmanned technology, specifically UAVs, has

been around for centuries and was used predominantly

for military purposes, albeit in very rudimentary forms.

Over the years, bigger, longer endurance and

weaponised UAVs capable of persistent surveillance and

delivering precise firepower were developed to

complement manned platforms to secure military

objectives. However, this trend seems to have reversed

recently. The revolutionary advancement in technology

over recent years, in what many call the 4th Industrial

Revolution (4IR), has enabled the miniaturisation of

payloads and the consequent proliferation of smaller,

smarter unmanned drones.1 These are operated

increasingly by commercial and civilian entities for a

whole host of functions, ranging from goods delivery to

environmental monitoring to maintenance inspection of

transmission cables.2 Given its promising prospects, it

will not be long before drones are operated in

Singapore in a bigger way, with potentially serious

implications on the safety and security of our country if

not properly managed. This essay seeks to outline the

global trends in the growth of small unmanned drones,

highlight its implications that are faced globally and in

Singapore, and make recommendations to mitigate

these impacts.

TRENDS

The earliest recorded use of a UAV dates back to

the mid-19th Century, when the Austrians invaded the

Italian city of Venice using balloons that were loaded

with explosives.3 Subsequent military applications saw

the use of radio-controlled pilotless aircraft by the

British and Americans in World War One (WWI).4 We

have since made giant leaps in the employment of

UAVs. Medium and High Altitude Long Endurance

(MALE and HALE) class UAVs capable of carrying

surveillance and weapon payloads for sustained periods

have since became an integral part of the Order of

Battle (ORBAT) of many advanced armed forces around

the world.

With the advent of 4IR, we have witnessed a

reversal of trends towards smaller and smarter drones.

Just like how the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Industrial Revolutions

gave birth to steam power, electricity for mass

production and the Internet respectively to bring about

quantum leaps in how we work and our way of life, the

4IR has been marked by exponential advances in many

areas, and the fusion between the digital, physical and

biological, bringing far-reaching changes that impact

even societal norms.5 Paired with ubiquitous

smartphones, small drones have provided a means to

literally gain new perspectives—if the human cannot fly,

as Icarus wished to, at least his eyes are able to take to

2


the sky. Broadly, unmanned drones have become more

capable, more available, and more useful, but also more

dangerous in recent times.

With the advent of 4IR, we have

witnessed a reversal of trends

towards smaller and smarter

drones.

More Capable

Seizing on the opportunities afforded by this

emerging technology, commercial companies have

responded quickly to growing demand by investing

significant resources in Research & Development and

marketing. With an initial small group of companies,

such as DJI from China, 3D Robotics from the United

States, Yunnec from Hong Kong and Parrot from France,

the sector has grown tremendously, and the market

forces have also fuelled corresponding growth and

innovation in the sector. Coupled with the growth in the

computers and camera sensors development, this has

resulted in a near exponential growth in the capabilities

of small unmanned drones in a classical Moore’s law

scenario. For example, while an earlier version of a

drone carried low resolution cameras and was capable

of modest flight times, a typical small drone today like

the DJI Phantom 4 incorporates four-axis gyro-

stabilisation, GPS-capable waypoint guidance, Beyond-

Line of Sight operations, and is capable of flying up to

70km/h with a 20 megapixel camera in tow for no less

than 30 minutes.6 Some of these drones are

technologically even more advanced than helicopters in

lesser capable militaries. Miniaturisation had also

recently added to this growth—the current market

leader DJI, with over 80% of the market share, had

released a drone capable of folding to have the

footprint of a small laptop and is capable of stowing into

any schoolkids’ backpack.7

More Available

Besides the growing capabilities, the ability to

mass manufacture has resulted in the proliferation of

drones as they become increasingly cheaper and

accessible to companies and the average man on the

streets. It is now economically viable for commercial

companies to employ drones in a series of applications,

such as maintenance inspection, agricultural and

environmental monitoring, and aerial surveillance for

security enforcement agencies as well as media

entities.8 We have also seen the growing adoption of

small unmanned aircraft from professionals and

Wikipedia

A Black Hornet Nano Helicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, measuring 10cm x 2.5cm.

3


hobbyists alike. In the professional sector, small

unmanned drones have opened up a new perspective

for filming, providing a unique ‘birds-eye’ view of the

area of interest without the need for a rental of an

expensive helicopter and associated crew. In the

hobbyist area, small unmanned drones are utilised by

enthusiasts to experience the joy of flying in an

inexpensive manner, especially if the system offers a

First-Person-View (FPV) capability. A common practice

today is to travel with a drone to enhance the views

available—enabling breath-taking views for example, of

the endless beaches of the Gold Coast in Australia, or

difficult-to-reach areas in Iceland.9

More Useful

With rapid technological progress and falling

costs due to mass production, many companies and

agencies have taken to using these drones. The airline

EasyJet uses drones for aircraft inspections. Park

rangers in Africa use drones to look for poachers and

monitor endangered rhinoceros. Shell uses drones to

inspect oil infrastructure that is hard to reach, or

potentially hazardous.10 Beyond inspections, one of the

largest sectors for growth in the drone market is for

agricultural purposes. When combined with data

analytics and multi-spectral sensors, drones help to

monitor the growth of crops over large plantations,

analysing plant height, growth rates, chlorophyll

concentrations, and even help to make targeted

recommendations so as to improve crop yield.11 In the

logistics sector, large companies like Amazon and UPS

are using drones for courier delivery of packages.

Locally, agencies such as the National Environmental

Agency (NEA) have adopted the use of such drones to

inspect roof gutters for dengue breeding grounds.12

California has used drones in their firefighting efforts,

and Nepal used drones in post-earthquake location of

survivors. And if that wasn’t enough, Dubai is looking to

use drones capable of autonomously transporting

people, in a style reminiscent of the cartoon The

Jetsons.13

More Dangerous

Drones today have evolved sufficiently to be

equipped with or used as a weapon. Numerous reports

have surfaced of near-misses between civil airliners and

A drone intended for agricultural use.

Wikipedia

4


drones. In 2015, a Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) conference showcased a DJI Phantom 2, then the

best on the market, holding 3 pounds of dynamite.14

Security experts have also cautioned that such drones

could be easily modified to carry and remotely fire off

handguns, or used as an airborne delivery platform for

Chemical and Radiological agents.15 This problem is

exacerbated by the small Radar Cross Section (RCS) of

drones—comparable with that of a bird—which makes

it extremely difficult for them to be detected and

tracked by radar systems today. Just 10 days after the

fore-mentioned DHS conference, a small unmanned

drone crashed into a tree on the South Lawn of the

White House beyond the regular security cordon, raising

questions on the Secret Service’s ability to protect the

White House from drone threats.16 A similar episode

happened earlier in 2013, when another small

unmanned drone landed inches from the German

Chancellor Angela Merkel during an election campaign

event in Dresden and was picked up by her security

detail.17 These properties of drones make a potent mix

for anyone wishing to exploit them for nefarious

purposes. On less explosive frontiers, drones have also

been reported to have been used to smuggle drugs and

contraband goods across physical borders and even into

prisons.18

Besides these risks, drones also represent a cyber-

security risk. Because they are almost always directly

connected to the internet via smartphones, drones

could be hacked into and taken over by hostile action.19

Besides their video stream being hacked and

unknowingly shared, an innocent hobbyist drone could

be commandeered for more nefarious purposes, like

those mentioned above, with the culprit extremely hard

to trace.

The world is recognising the risks and

responding—a conference was held in December 2016,

aptly titled ‘Countering Drones Conference’, to gather

security experts from around the world to discuss ‘the

security and safety threat that this technology presents

to critical national infrastructure, homeland security and

a range of commercial sectors.’20 Manufacturers have

also begun to make counter-drone systems, ranging

from electronic jamming guns, drones carrying nets, to

even eagles catching drones!

While there are stringent

airworthiness standards on the

quality of aviation platforms to

minimise crashes and disasters,

there are no such equivalent

standards on these small

unmanned drones which can be

purchased from unregulated and

unknown sources.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SINGAPORE

Being a globalised country, Singapore faces

similar issues with these drones. Their increasing

proliferation in Singapore will not be without its

challenges. Beyond issues such as privacy risks, we have

chosen to highlight two grave areas of concern,

especially for a compact nation like ours—the risk of air

accidents, and the risk to national security. The

introduction of drones into airspace previously meant

exclusively for manned aircraft will require an increased

demand for tight airspace co-ordination and control,

failing which the risk of air accidents will be amplified

manifold. The exploitation of drones for insidious

purposes like weapon delivery will also pose a threat to

national security and sovereignty.

Risk of Air Accidents

The airspace overhead of Singapore is one of the

most congested in the world. The eastern side of the

island holds one of the world’s busiest airports, with

flights arriving or departing once every 90 seconds.21

Airspace is also required to hold and sequence these

airliners to ensure safe separation prior to landing or

after take-off. Over other parts of the island, our RSAF

assets regularly operate at various heights, with

helicopters flying as low as treetop level and sometimes

flying in the same airspace as our fighters and transport

aircraft. On top of that, there are areas with restricted

airspace, such as over the Istana, for security reasons.

There has been a worrying trend developing overseas,

with disturbing videos on Facebook of near misses

between airliners and small unmanned drones

5


becoming increasingly common. On one occasion, a

collision was not spared, as a British Airways aircraft

carrying 132 passengers on board was making its

approach into Heathrow airport when it collided with a

drone.22 While this episode did not result in fatalities, it

was instructive on the potential consequences of

unregulated drones flying in airspace shared with

manned aircraft, especially in the vicinity of airfields.

For all these aviation operations, the control is

performed centrally with tight co-ordination between

the RSAF and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore

(CAAS), and the flight timings, heights and routes are

not available to the commercial entities and general

public who might operate drones. In addition, while all

aviators, including operators of military UAVs, undergo

stringent training on flying fundamentals such as

obeying commands issued by Air Traffic Controllers and

honing emergency response instincts through simulator

training (including emergencies on aircraft in the

vicinity), the general populace does not undergo such

training.23 The lack of air sense would make it dangerous

for co-sharing of airspace with manned platforms,

especially when emergency scenarios unravel.

While there are stringent airworthiness standards

on the quality of aviation platforms to minimise crashes

and disasters, there are no such equivalent standards on

these small unmanned drones which can be purchased

from unregulated and unknown sources.24 The lack of

globally enforced standards for airworthiness of these

drones is also a problem area, for what goes up must

come down, hopefully in a controlled manner. A

mechanical failure in flight of one of the motors could

result in a crash landing, and in a heavily populated area

like Singapore, the uncontrolled descent of a 7kg

weight, which is the currently permitted maximum

weight allowed to fly without a permit, onto a human

being could be very injurious.25

Risk to National Security and Sovereignty

Drones can also be exploited for more insidious

purposes by state actors, terrorist groups and lone-wolf

saboteurs to threaten national sovereignty and security.

Recently, reports have emerged of fighters in ISIS

utilising these as airborne Improvised Explosive Devices

(IEDs), highlighting the threat that terrorists could bring

by the simple acquisition and modification of these

drones. In addition, advances in additive manufacturing,

or 3D printing, have also demonstrated how such

drones could be easily designed and printed in the

comfort of one’s own homes.

Detection of drones is getting increasingly

challenging with them getting smaller. Traditional

methods of air defence depend largely on radar, which

is the detection of airborne objects through the

reflection of radio waves. However, in order not to

generate many false alarms, the radar is usually tuned

to have a certain threshold—detections smaller than a

certain RCS will be disregarded so as not to pick up

other flying objects such as birds. Small unmanned

drones have similar RCSs and are hence difficult to

detect, especially if they are hovering.26 Technologically,

the associated radar bands that are capable of detecting

such RCS sizes are also affected by moisture and heavily

attenuated by rain, and thus have much shorter ranges

as opposed to those radars for large aircraft. Besides the

capability to detect such RCS sizes, the software

algorithm used to discriminate between birds and

drones is also a challenge. Currently, the most fool proof

method is to focus on detecting the communications

between the operator and the drone, looking for the

signals and communications protocols that are

transmitted to control the drone.27 However, this

method requires a gamut of passive sensors placed in

the appropriate locations to detect. This is typically

paired with acoustic sensors to detect for the high-

pitched ‘whine’ of the electric motors on these small

drones.

Detection of drones is getting

increasingly challenging with them

getting smaller.

To regulate the flying of drones in local airspace,

our civil airspace regulatory body, CAAS, has set out

some easy-to-follow rules, governing the size and

operating areas, for example.28 For other similar cities

like Hong Kong and New York, their airspace regulatory

bodies have implemented similar measures.29 However,

this would not address the threat of cross-border drone

flying, as we are within proximity of neighbours that

might also operate such drones but are not subject to

6


local regulations. State actors may increasingly consider

the employment of drones in swarms as a weapon of

choice during Period of Tension (POT) and war, as

opposed to the more conventional means of warfare.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Given the challenges and implications of

proliferated drones usage in Singapore mentioned

above, beyond strict regulations such as restrictions on

the flying of drones for certain areas, recommendations

can be made in 2 broad areas as mitigation, namely by

pursuing technological solutions and establishing

stronger governance framework for standards. Given

the wide range of drone applications, a Whole-of-

Government approach is required for these

recommendations. There are however, limitations to

some of the suggested solutions and these will be

highlighted and discussed.

Technological Solutions

To assist in airspace de-confliction and play a

greater role in Corporate Social Responsibility, the

larger companies such as DJI have implemented what is

known as GPS geo-fencing.30 As their drones are capable

of GPS navigation, the firmware is hardwired to avoid

certain areas, and the drone is even prevented from

flying into the area defined by the set of GPS co-

ordinates. However, this requires government and

regulatory bodies to register these co-ordinates with

the commercial company, and after that, entrusts the

commercial company, who might operate on different

considerations and principles, with the responsibility of

national security. Moreover, this capability is not

present in the smaller drone producers, especially

companies that can cobble together existing parts.

Detection of lone drones remains challenging

based on existing radar technology today. Hence,

defence contractors have put their resources and

emphasis on developing methods to interdict and

remove drone threats expeditiously. Efforts till date

were largely focused on non-kinetic means to remove

such threats, such as through jamming.31 This method

induces the drone to either land immediately or to

return to its pre-programmed ‘home’. Unfortunately, a

GPS-waypoint-programmable drone is not susceptible

to such jamming as the operator does not need to

communicate with the drone after take-off. Thus, kinetic

solutions to remove the threat are still required.

A DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ v3.0 drone, a popular commercially available drone.

Wikipedia

7


Innovative methods in this have been explored, ranging

from getting other small drones to drop nets and foul

the offender’s propellers, the use of net guns and even

training eagles to catch intruding drones by the French

Air Force.32 More advanced solutions such as the use of

lasers have also been explored and proposed. However,

while the threat of the drones can be removed using the

abovementioned solutions, the concurrent issue of

catching the offending operator remains as an

unresolved issue, since the bulk of time and effort is

weighted towards the interception of the drone which

leaves the operators and offenders time to scoot.

Governance and Standards

In the area of airspace management for safety

and security, besides relying on commercial companies

to implement geo-fencing given our unique airspace

situation, Singapore needs to do more in the area of

governance and standards for drones’ manufacture and

operation.

For a start, we need to define a set of

airworthiness standards and requirements for such

small unmanned systems wanting to operate in our

airspace. At present, there is none globally, but the

effect of a drone falling from the sky in other parts of

the world is also correspondingly less of a concern and

hence the issue is less pressing elsewhere. Next, there

needs to be a certification process to only allow

producers that meet locally-defined standards, to

market and sell their product locally. We also need to

prevent the unauthorised import of uncertified drones

as part of our customs and excise process. We would

also need to control the inflow of critical parts such as

electrical motors that can power drones, and gyro-

stabilisers that would enable the flying.

We would also need to work with our regional

neighbours to implement such regulations, possibly

under a regional framework under the ambit of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

As a means to better detect and also isolate

offenders, we should ensure that every authorised

drone that flies in our local airspace is equipped with an

active transponder. Larger commercial planes have an

existing system known as Automatic Dependent

Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), in which their speed

and positional information is constantly transmitted to

An MQ-9 Reaper UAV capable of conducting military operations.

Wikipedia

8


Air Traffic Control.33 There are existing products on the

market which have miniaturised such a system, and this

would allow our air traffic and air defence controllers to

quickly identify drones which are of unknown origin and

need to be further investigated. Again, through

regulations akin to mandating an IU in every car, we

could ensure that every authorised drone has one of

these active transponders.

We would also need to identify set areas for

drone hobbyists to operate their drones, as the current

set of regulations only identifies where they cannot fly,

as opposed to where they should fly.

Finally, the RSAF should also quickly

operationalise an engagement capability in order to

enforce such regulations. We would need to work

tightly with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on punitive

measures, such that the offending operators can be

arrested and appropriate actions taken against them.

OPPORTUNITIES AMIDST CHALLENGES

In every threat there is also an opportunity. Just

as how others are using drones to innovatively conduct

warfare, there is also much potential for the RSAF to

exploit. These drones, when equipped with artificial

intelligence and given greater autonomy of operations,

can help the RSAF to overcome our lack of mass due to

our small human resource base. For example, in

manned-unmanned teaming concepts, these drones

could help our manned aircraft to accomplish some of

the missions, such as looking for survivors in air-crashes

or post-earthquake disaster relief efforts.34 In loyal

wingman modes, these drones could help our pilots to

multiply their efforts in the battlespace, against a more

numerous enemy. Finally, in the concept of swarm,

these drones could autonomously conduct operations

from the air, each of them filling a key node in the

observe-orientate-decide-act loop, and the

disaggregation of sensors and shooters amongst the

swarm would also increase the survivability of the

overall group.35

CONCLUSION

We live in the age of disruptions. Drone

technology is a fine example of these disruptions—it

holds great potential to increase our productivity and

find new ways to do business, but also brings along

threats to security and safety of the populace. In order

to navigate these disruptions, a Whole-of-Government

approach, and even a Whole-of-Society approach, is

required to strike the best balance; maximising gains for

Singapore whilst minimising the possible negatives that

could result.

9


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, Chris. “Agricultural Drones.” MIT Technology Review 117, no. 3 (May 2014). Accessed February 26, 2017.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526491/agricultural-drones/.

Au-yeung, Allen. Drone Hits British Airways Plane: Hong Kong’s Safety Rules for Flying Drones. (South China

Morning Post), April 18, 2016. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1936794/

drone-hits-british-airways-plane-hong-kongs-safety.

Boyle, Michael J. “The Race for Drones.” Orbis 59, no. 1 (November 17, 2014): 76–94.

Chan, Jing Y. “Manned-Unmanned Teaming—An Analysis Of UAVs And Their Interoperability With Manned

Aircraft.” Pointer 42, no. 1 (March 1, 2016): 66–76.

Clinton, Associated Press in. “Teen’s Video of Handgun-Toting Drone Prompts Federal Investigation.” The Guardian

(The Guardian), February 21, 2017.

Crilly, Rob. “Drones First Used in 1848.” The Telegraph (The Telegraph), June 20, 2011. http://

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/8586782/Drones-first-used-in-1848.html.

DefenceIQ. “The Emerging Threat: Identifying, Measuring and Preparing for the Security Implications of Civil and

Commercial Drones.” Countering Drones 2016,: 2.

Dillow, Clay. “With New Rules, the FAA and Drone Industry Make up.” Fortune February 19, 2015,. Accessed

February 26, 2017. http://fortune.com/2015/02/18/faa-drone-rules-proposal/.

Elgan, Mike. How to Shoot a Drone out of the Sky. (Computerworld), December 3, 2016. http://

www.computerworld.com/article/3147045/robotics/how-to-shoot-a-drone-out-of-the-sky.html.

Gallagher, Sean. German Chancellor’s Drone “attack” Shows the Threat of Weaponized UAVs. (Ars Technica),

September 18, 2013. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/09/german-chancellors-drone-attack-

shows-the-threat-of-weaponized-uavs/.

Garland, Poppy. “Why You Should Bring a Drone on Your Next Big Trip.” June 28, 2016. Accessed February 26, 2017.

http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-06-28/why-you-should-bring-a-drone-on-your-next-trip.

Heater, Brian. “DJI’s Folding Drone Is Smaller and Better at Tracking Than GoPro’s Offering.” Tech Crunch.

September 27, 2016. https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/27/djis/.

Lim, Adrian. “Government Agencies Can Expand Use of Drones Through Master Contract.” The Straits Times (The

Straits Times), November 1, 2016.

M, Ricky and Monique L Magalhaes. “Drones – Another Threat to Security.” October 4, 2016. Accessed February 26,

2017. http://techgenix.com/drones-another-threat-security/.

Marr, Bernard. “Why Everyone Must Get Ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution.” Forbes April 5, 2016,. Accessed

February 26, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/04/05/why-everyone-must-get-ready-for-4th

-industrial-revolution/#60aff3a33f90.

Murphy, Margi and Christina Mercer. “22 Impressive Ways Drones Are Being Used Right Now.” February 22, 2017.

Accessed February 26, 2017. http://www.techworld.com/picture-gallery/personal-tech/best-uses-of-drones-in-

business-3605145-3605145/.

Orphanides, K G. “Police Called After ‘drone’ Hits Plane Landing at Heathrow.” Wired. February 26, 2017. http://

www.wired.co.uk/article/heathrow-drone-collision-plane.

10


Poulsen, Kevin. “Why the US Government Is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones.” Wired. February 5, 2015. https://

www.wired.com/2015/02/white-house-drone.

Reserved, DJI All Rights. “DJI Phantom 4 – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads.” March 20, 2016. Accessed

February 26, 2017. http://www.dji.com/phantom-4/info#specs.

Roberts, Jeff J. “France Is Training Eagles to Kill Drones.” Fortune, February 23, 2017. http://

fortune.com/2017/02/22/drones-eagles-france/.

Ross, Alice. “Conference Studies Security Threats Posed by Consumer Drones.” The Guardian (The Guardian),

February 21, 2017.

Schwad, Klaus. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means and How to Respond.” World Economic Forum.

Switzerland, 2016. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and

-how-to-respond/.

Smith, Rebecca. “Utilities Turn to Drones to Inspect Power Lines and Pipelines.” Wall Street Journal May 6, 2015,.

Accessed February 26, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/utilities-turn-to-drones-to-inspect-power-lines-and-

pipelines-1430881491.

Tan, Angela. Singapore Changi Airport’s Passenger Movements in Nov up 3.2% from a Year Ago. (The Business

Times), December 28, 2016.

Tokyo, Associated Press in. “Drone ‘containing radiation’ Lands on Roof of Japanese PM’s Office.” The Guardian

(The Guardian), April 23, 2015.

“Advanced Drone Detection and Warning Device.” January 16, 2017. Accessed February 26, 2017. http://

www.dedrone.com/en/dronetracker/drone-detection-hardware.

“Eye in the Sky.” Accessed February 26, 2017. http://www.shell.com/inside-energy/eye-in-the-sky.html.

“Flying of Unmanned Aircraft.” January 20, 2017. Accessed February 26, 2017. http://www.caas.gov.sg/caas/en/

ANS/unmanned-aircraft.html.

“The Benefits of Low Power ADS-B for UAS.” INSIDE UNMANNED SYSTEMS January 31, 2017,. http://

insideunmannedsystems.com/benefits-low-power-ads-b-uas/.

Department of Defense Announces Successful Micro-Drone Demonstration. (U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE),

January 2017. https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1044811/department-

of-defense-announces-successful-micro-drone-demonstration.

Drone Laws in Singapore. (The Straits Times), April 19, 2016. http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/drone-laws-in

-singapore.

11


ENDNOTES

1. Klaus Schwad, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means and How to Respond,” in World Economic Forum (Switzerland, 2016), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/.

2. Rebecca Smith, “Utilities Turn to Drones to Inspect Power Lines and Pipelines,” Wall Street Journal May 6, 2015, accessed February 26, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/utilities-turn-to-drones-to-inspect-power-lines-and-pipelines-1430881491.

3. Rob Crilly, “Drones First Used in 1848,” The Telegraph (The Telegraph), June 20, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/8586782/Drones-first-used-in-1848.html.

4. Ibid

5. Bernard Marr, “Why Everyone Must Get Ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution,” Forbes April 5, 2016, accessed February 26, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/04/05/why-everyone-must-get-ready-for-4th-industrial-revolution/#60aff3a33f90.

6. “DJI Phantom 4 – Specs, FAQ, Tutorials and Downloads,” March 20, 2016, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.dji.com/phantom-4/info#specs.

7. Brian Heater, “DJI’s Folding Drone Is Smaller and Better at Tracking Than GoPro’s Offering,” Tech Crunch, September 27, 2016, https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/27/djis/.

8. “22 Impressive Ways Drones Are Being Used Right Now,” February 22, 2017, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.techworld.com/picture-gallery/personal-tech/best-uses-of-drones-in-business-3605145-3605145/.

9. “Why You Should Bring a Drone on Your Next Big Trip,” CN Traveler, June 28, 2016, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-06-28/why-you-should-bring-a-drone-on-your-next-trip.

10. “Eye in the Sky,” Shell Global, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.shell.com/inside-energy/eye-in-the-sky.html.

11. Chris Anderson, “Agricultural Drones,” MIT Technology Review 117, no. 3 (May 2014), accessed February 26, 2017, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526491/agricultural-drones/.

12. Adrian Lim, “Government Agencies Can Expand Use of Drones Through Master Contract,” The Straits Times (The Straits Times), November 1, 2016.

13. This is an American futuristic series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s.

14. Kevin Poulsen, “Why the US Government Is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones,” Wired, February 5, 2015, https://www.wired.com/2015/02/white-house-drone. /

15. Associated Press in Clinton, “Teen’s Video of Handgun-Toting Drone Prompts Federal Investigation,” The Guardian (The Guardian), February 21, 2017.

Associated Press in Tokyo, “Drone ‘containing radiation’ Lands on Roof of Japanese PM’s Office,” The Guardian (The Guardian), April 23, 2015.

16. Poulsen, “Why the US Government is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones”.

17. Sean Gallagher, German Chancellor’s Drone “attack” Shows the Threat of Weaponized UAVs, (Ars Technica), September 18, 2013, https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/09/german-chancellors-drone-attack-shows-the-threat-of-weaponized-uavs/.

18. Alice Ross, “Conference Studies Security Threats Posed by Consumer Drones,” The Guardian (The Guardian), February 21, 2017.

19. “Drones – Another Threat to Security,” TECHGENIX, October 4, 2016, accessed February 26, 2017, http://techgenix.com/drones-another-threat-security/.

12


20. DefenceIQ, “The Emerging Threat: Identifying, Measuring and Preparing for the Security Implications of Civil and Commercial Drones,” Countering Drones 2016.

21. Angela Tan, Singapore Changi Airport’s Passenger Movements in Nov up 3.2% from a Year Ago, (The Business Times), December 28, 2016.

22. K G Orphanides, “Police Called After ‘drone’ Hits Plane Landing at Heathrow,” Wired, February 26, 2017, http://www.wired.co.uk/article/heathrow-drone-collision-plane.

23. Clay Dillow, “With New Rules, the FAA and Drone Industry Make up,” Fortune February 19, 2015, accessed February 26, 2017, http://fortune.com/2015/02/18/faa-drone-rules-proposal/.

24. Ibid

25. Drone Laws in Singapore, (The Straits Times), April 19, 2016, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/drone-laws-in-singapore.

26. Michael J Boyle, “The Race for Drones,” Orbis 59, no. 1 (November 17, 2014).

27. “Advanced Drone Detection and Warning Device,” Dedrone, January 16, 2017, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.dedrone.com/en/dronetracker/drone-detection-hardware.

28. “Flying of Unmanned Aircraft,” Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, January 20, 2017, accessed February 26, 2017, http://www.caas.gov.sg/caas/en/ANS/unmanned-aircraft.html.

29. Allen Au-yeung, Drone Hits British Airways Plane: Hong Kong’s Safety Rules for Flying Drones, (South China Morning Post), April 18, 2016, http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1936794/drone-hits-british-airways-plane-hong-kongs-safety.

30. Poulsen, “Why the US Government is Terrified of Hobbyist Drones”.

31. Mike Elgan, How to Shoot a Drone out of the Sky, (Computerworld), December 3, 2016, http://www.computerworld.com/article/3147045/robotics/how-to-shoot-a-drone-out-of-the-sky.html.

32. Jeff J Roberts, “France Is Training Eagles to Kill Drones,” Fortune, February 23, 2017, http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/drones-eagles-france/.

33. “The Benefits of Low Power ADS-B for UAS,” INSIDE UNMANNED SYSTEMS January 31, 2017, http://insideunmannedsystems.com/benefits-low-power-ads-b-uas/.

34. Jing Y Chan, “Manned-Unmanned Teaming—An Analysis Of UAVs And Their Interoperability With Manned Aircraft,” Pointer 42, no. 1 (March 1, 2016).

35. Department of Defense Announces Successful Micro-Drone Demonstration, (U.S. Department Of Defense), January 2017, https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1044811/department-of-defense-announces-successful-micro-drone-demonstration.

13


ME5 Ng Wei Rong is currently Officer Commanding in 7 Air Engineering and

Logistics Group (AELG). He graduated from ICL with a Master of Engineering in

Mechanical Engineering. ME5 Ng is an Air Force Engineer by vocation, and was

previously Staff Assistant to the Chief of Air Force.

MAJ Sim Bao Chen is currently a Branch Head in SAF Information Group, Joint

Operations Department. He graduated from Imperial College London (ICL) with a

Master of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. MAJ Sim is an Air

Warfare Officer by vocation, and was previously the Battery Commander of Bravo

Battery in the 3rd Divisional Air Defence Artillery Battalion.

ME6 David Bey is an Air Force Engineer by vocation. He has a Bachelor of

Engineering and a Master of Defence Technology and Systems, both from the

National University of Singapore (NUS), and a Master of Science in Systems

Engineering from Cranfield University, UK. He has worked in F-16 and Heron-1

system engineering positions in Air Engineering and Logistics Department (AELD),

and F-16 ground maintenance positions in Air Power Generation Command

(APGC) and Air Combat Command (ACC). He is currently on course in the Air

Command and Staff College, US.

the proliferation of small drones: trends, implications ... · 5 the proliferation of small drones:...

Documents