A bizarre device that crashed in Pakistan is being declared a US drone by authorities who unearthed it. But while the use of drones in Pakistan shouldn’t surprise us, what is even stranger is the fact that it actually looks like it might not be a US drone. But if it’s not one of ours, where did the bird-like mystery contraption come from? Unlike conventional drones this one appears to be made of solid metal – and looks like it would have a considerable amount of trouble getting off the ground in the first place.
Where is the drone from? And why can’t we identify it based on the pictures provided to news outlets? When technology news website Wired came across the drone they pointed out several similarities to another bird-like drone – the smartbird in an article that called the identity of the device into question. There’s little doubt that drones are indeed operating in Pakistan since the string of reports started pouring in about drone attacks on Al-Qaida leaders. But this mystery device looks like it would have a difficult enough time flying and doesn’t seem to have any sort of armaments on it. The device has an estimated wing span of about five feet and looks like its primary means of propulsion could have been a propeller which was on the “bird’s” beak.
And there’s one other strange feature to the device. It seems to have a very small cockpit where presumably something would have normally been installed. A compartment leading from this cockpit leads to the insides of the device suggesting it may have been attached to a power cable. A compartment such as this would have been expected on the underside, but the available pictures show it on the top of the device – suggesting it may not have been used for attacks – or surveillance.
And that’s not as deep as the mysteries go on this peculiar case. After the device was destroyed, reports suggest that the device did have a camera, but that this indention may not have been related to it. As it is still in Pakistan it is difficult to analyze except by the few pictures that have been released of the device and the word of those releasing information.
Additionally, it seems odd to design a birdlike drone only to then cover it in a shiny metallic material that can no doubt seen sparkling from a great distance away. The multiple corners and curves on the object’s surface suggest it would have reflected light at most angles from very far away – something a simple coat of paint would have covered up easily. So what is the true source of this strange device, and what was it doing in Pakistan? We may not know for some time. In the mean time, far more advanced drones are being spotted all over the world – sometimes of equally mysterious origins.