drone infiltrates, blows up ammo dump in Ukraine

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/news/a27511/russia-drone-thermite-grenade-ukraine-ammo/

"A drone carrying a grenade infiltrated an ammunition dump in Ukraine, setting off an explosion that caused an astounding billion dollars worth of damage. The incident points to the growing use of drones in wartime, particularly off the shelf civilian products harnessed to conduct sabotage and other attacks.

Ukraine's domestic intelligence service, the SBU, believes that a drone carrying a Russian thermite hand grenade caused a series of titanic explosions at Balakliya, a military base in Eastern Ukraine. Amateur video of the incident posted on YouTube shows a raging fire spewing out of control artillery rockets, and an explosion and shockwave that sent civilians nearby reeling."

 

Here in the Black Hills is the abandoned town of Igloo, where the US military stored ammunition in separate bunkers for this very reason.

 

A quadcopter that flies and swims

https://www.dodbuzz.com/2017/07/21/quadcopter-swims-flies-used-navy-special-ops/

"At the Office of Naval Research’s annual Science and Technology Expo on Friday in Washington, D.C., a development team from Rutgers University demonstrated the unusual quadcopter, which can swim at depths of up to 10 meters, then seamlessly launch to the surface and soar into the air.
The drone, developed with sponsorship from the Office of Naval Research, shows promise as a tool for mine countermeasures and port security, to name a few possibilities."

How far can it go, though?

DIY drone catcher

http://www.makeitextreme.com/en/newsroom/entry/VIDEOS/catcher

"The last, few years, air drones have been widely known as they are remote-controlled, flying devices that are capable of filming and photographing while being on the air. Make it extreme team gives its own solution to the problem of the annoying drones that are flying in private places in this video.

Although, we have seen various mechanisms instead of drones, our construction is unique and maybe it is the first homemade, anti-drone gun. Initially, our thought was simple, to create a gun with four barrels which would shoot a net with the help of compressed air and it would trap this flying device. "

how not to take a family video

http://i.imgur.com/wEuOdCt.gifv

UK comes up with drone rules

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drones-to-be-registered-and-users-to-sit-safety-tests-under-new-government-rules

"Drones will have to be registered and users will have to sit safety awareness tests under new rules to better regulate their growing use, the government announced today (22 July 2017).
Owners of drones weighing 250 grams [8.8 ounces] and over will in future have to register details of their drones to improve accountability and encourage owners to act responsibly.
Users may be able to register online or through apps, under plans being explored by the government. The move follows safety research that concluded drones could damage the windscreens of helicopters."

that includes some mighty small quadcopters.  the DJI Spark weighs about 300 grams (10.5 ounces).  But as they get more sophisticated and capable, perhaps that is a good cutoff point.

Slaying the mighty Dro-en

http://imgur.com/gallery/6ZHnA

and bonus;

http://imgur.com/gallery/gEAqnGR

My first flight above 20 feet with my new DJI Spark

I'm very happy with my Spark so far. I really just want to use it for taking video and photos, so i don't need speed or distance.  It handles pretty well in a wind, and is rock solid at hovering.  After flying my 7-year old quadcopter, this is like child's play.

It took a bit to set everything up, since you have to get the controller (yes, get the controller), the phone, and the quadcopter to communicate. But after that things were fine.  No issues so far.