Dutch designer, Ruben Pater, has created a Drone Survival Guide which shows the different shapes and sizes of drones based on their silhouettes. With drones becoming more and more common everyday, it makes sense that someone would create a guide to identify the unmanned flying machines much like a bird watching chart.
The guide created by Pater offers details of how the drones look and tips on how to hide from them. Most of the drones included in the chart are from countries that are members of NATO such as US, UK, France, Germany and Canada. This is mainly because these countries are more open about their drones and have revealed certain amounts of information (such as wingspan) to the public. Other countries that have drones featured in the chart include India, Israel, China, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
The guide also features a scale to identify different drones by their wingspan, since the drones on the guide vary greatly in size from the Global Hawk with a wingspan of 130 feet to the minuscule Parrot AC quad-copter with a size of 23 inches. Icons are used to state the primary use of a drone, with the skull icon representing a drone used for attack and an eye icon indicating a surveillance drone. It was difficult for Mr. Pater to categorize the drones by military and domestic use because some models were used in both fields.
Although the guide was intended as art, it includes detailed tips from the guide produced by Al Qaeda for countering drones which was published in 2013. These tips include hiding under a dense canopy of trees, using space blankets to hide heat signatures and placing pieces of glass on car roofs to reflect light. Pater said that the guide was printed on aluminum paper making it “a useful tool to interfere with a drone’s sensors”. – WonderfulEngineering.com
Drone Survival Guide – Order Here dronesurvivalguide.org
− Surveillance
− Attack
− Military surveillance
− Domestic surveillance
− Consumer
For Unofficial use only
Global Drone deployment U.S. Military
21st century birdwatching
Our ancestors could spot natural predators from far by their silhouettes. Are we equally aware of
the predators in the present-day? Drones are remote-controlled planes that can be used for anything
from surveillance and deadly force, to rescue operations and scientific research. Most drones are
used today by military powers for remote-controlled surveillance and attack, and their numbers
are growing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) predicted in 2012 that within 20 years
there could be as many as 30.000 drones flying over U.S. Soil alone. As robotic birds will become
commonplace in the near future, we should be prepared to identify them. This survival guide is an
attempt to familiarise ourselves and future generations, with a changing technological environment
This document contains the silhouettes of the most common drone species used today and in the
near future. Each indicating nationality and whether they are used for surveillance only or for
deadly force. All drones are drawn in scale for size indication. From the smallest consumer drones
measuring less than 1 meter, up to the Global Hawk measuring 39,9 meter in length. To keep this
document widely available it can be downloaded in .pdf or .doc format. New translations will be
made available over time.
DISCLAIMER This document is for information purposes only, with the intent of free distribution
of publicly available information. We do not condone violent or destructive behavior against people
or property in any way or form. All content may be freely shared, adapted, and translation for non-
commercial purposes. Available for free on the website. www.dronesurvivalguide.org
Hiding from Drones
Drones are equipped with extremely powerful camera’s which can detect people and vehicles at an
altitude of several kilometers. Most drones are equipped with night vision, and/or infrared vision
camera’s, so-called FLIR sensors. These can see human heat signatures from far away, day or night.
However there are ways to hide from drones.
1. Day camouflage: Hide in the shadows of buildings or trees.
Use thick forests as natural camouflage or use camouflage nets.
2. Night camouflage: hide inside buildings or under protection of trees or foliage. Do not use
flashlights or vehicle spot lights, even at long distances. Drones can easily spot this during
night missions.
3. Heat camouflage: Emergency blankets (so-called space blankets) made of Mylar can block
infrared rays. Wearing a space blanket as a poncho at night will hide your heat signature
from infrared detection. Also in summer when the temperature is between 36°C and 40°C,
infrared camera’s cannot distinguish between body and its surroundings.
4. Wait for bad weather. Drones cannot operate in high winds, smoke, rainstorms or heavy
weather conditions.
5. No wireless communication. Using mobile phones or GPS based communication will
possibly compromise your location.
6. Spreading reflective pieces of glass or mirrored material on a car on a roof will confuse the
drone’s camera.
7. Decoys. Use mannequins or human-sized dolls to mislead the drone’s reconnaissance.
Hacking Drones
Drones are remote controlled. The pilots operating the drone can be thousands of kilometers away
at Ground Control stations. The control link is the satellite transmitted datalink by which the pilot
controls the plane. By jamming or intercepting the datalink, one can interfere with the drones
controls. The data link can be encrypted but often is not.
1. Interception. A sophisticated technique is using sky grabber software with a satellite dish
and a TV tuner to intercept the drone’s frequencies. Communication from and to the drone
can be intercepted.
2. Interference. By broadcasting on different frequencies or pack of frequencies the link
between the drone pilot and the drone can be disconnected.
3. GPS spoofing. Small, portable GPS transmitters can send fake GPS signals and disrupt
the Drones navigation systems. This can be used, for example, to steer drones into self-
destruction flight paths or even hijack them and land them on a runway.
Sources:
‘Health Ranger’s intelligence analysis of military drones: payloads, countermeasures and more’,
www.naturalnews.com, July 16, 2012. By Mike Adams
‘The Al-Qaida Papers – Drones’, This document is one of several found by The Associated Press
in buildings recently occupied by al-Qaida fighters in Timbuktu, Mali. Associated Press, Feb
2013. ‘Evading Thermal Imaging And Radar Detection’, United States Militia, Special Forces.
