The Pentagon's New Generation of Disintegrating Drones

The specialists from The United States Department of Defense have been working on new type of military drone, or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), that is literally capable of disappearing into thin air after completing its mission. Some researchers warn about the dangers of this new type of drone and the possibility of it being exploited for illegal activities.

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The drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at first glance appear very safe. They can be controlled remotely or programmed in advance to be fully autonomous. Because the pilot's life is not endangered, the army is able to perform very risky reconnaissance flights or airstrikes with very little limitations. In October 2015, the public discovered that DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) had started working on new type of drones, that are allegedly capable of self-destruction after finishing their assignments. In the opinion of some advocates of conspiracy theories, the U.S. military wants to use them primarily to conceal the traces of possible crime.

Privacy. A thing of the past?

According to the official version, the government's drones are meant to protect us. Nowadays, the drones seem to be everywhere. Recently, it was found out that the U.S. government agencies have been using them to monitor citizens and industrial or urban areas. It seems to remind of the reality depicted by British writer George Orwell (1903-1950) in his book "Nineteen Eighty-Four", where citizens were constantly monitored by so-called "Big Brother". When this novel came out in 1949, it was considered to be pure fiction. Today, in the United States, the drones are flying over people's heads and can possibly watch your every step. In September 2013, it was revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is also allowed to use drones for surveillance.

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Hiding Illegal Activities

The U.S. Army has been using drones for variety of military operations which some consider to be controversial. During the missions not only the enemies have been killed but also the civilians. For example, just between 2012 and 2013, the U.S. Forces killed 219 people in drone strikes in Northeastern Afghanistan, while only 35 were intended to be the targets.

[MQ-9 Reaper. Picture Source]

The DARPA's news from October 2015 mention the development of so-called disappearing drones. Reportedly, they are capable of self-destruction after finishing the mission. According to the official description, this ability prevents them from being captured by the enemies, such as those engaged with in the conflicts in Middle East.
In reality, it would allow the military to perform missions that public might never be able to learn about. Basically, all the physical evidence of illegal actions would vanish.

[Ephemeral polymer panel that directly changes from a solid state to a gas state. Picture Source - DARPA]

Is this a true reason why this drones are being developed? Are they meant to cover-up the errors made by the U.S. Government after launching its attacks on the enemy? Or maybe it will go even further and the drones will be used to eliminate "inconvenient" citizens?

The Dark Vision

This new drone project by DARPA is called ICARUS (Inbound, Controlled, Air-Releasable, Unrecoverable Systems), and its name refers to the ancient Greek, mythical character of Icarus whose wax-covered wings melted when he flew too close to the sun. The aim of the program is to develop an aircraft that changes its state of matter from solid to gaseous - practically, making it "vanish". As stated in recent news, these new drones will measure no more than 3 metres in diameter, and leave debris no larger than 100 micrometers.

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We just have to wait and see if this new technology is going to make our world safer, or quite the opposite - fulfill the darkest worries of conspiracy theorists.

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-logic