Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform, WASP drone

If you have arrived here as a result of a search for the Wasp drone, having read the Washington Post article then you are after this one the Aerovironment Wasp you welcome to keep reading this article before clicking on ;-)

Using off the shelf equipment and an opensource autopilot, the Ardupilot a group of  hackers have created an airborne platform designed to sniff out WiFi networks.

Coming hard on the heals of last weeks Google Drone story that was quickly rubbished by the search giant this seems like another threat to your data.

The electrically powered airframe  based on a large scale Mig 23 Flogger hobby model kit. The Flogger was a Russian swing wing cold war fighter.  An unusual platformfor this task  requiring a large amount of power to get airborne and a limited time in the air.

What they hope to get out of this project is not known. Grabbing the attention of aviation authorities will probably be one of the first outcomes.

Loss of freedoms for traditional aeromodellers is already on the cards as authorities around the world realise what the largely ignored group is now capable of. In Amercia one of the first casualties mooted might be jet power. Miniature high powered jet engines used in larger models become more affordable and the speeds that can be reached by carbon fibre airframes increase. You don’t have to join too many dots for potential misuse.

Actions of groups that claim to be defending freedoms or rights might lead to less for more.

If you want to replicate this WifiDrone  in the UK remember that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) here have already put measures in place to regulate airborne data gathering. Wondering how it was built. Its here

Heres some video.