This is likely to freak the bureaucrats.

Drone Swarm sets on general public sale!  (Bitcraze Crazyflie)

Pity its so expensive, 'cos if we all bought one or two ................................  

https://store.bitcraze.io/products/the-swarm-bundle

One of my UK suppliers is stocking them...................    

Dang, they're asking for a huge markup! Looks like they've got about the hardware complexity of a tinywhoop, but they're wanting over $200 each for them and they're using brushed motors.

Hi BadRaven,

Yes, it would freak out a lot of people if these things were actually flying around;
the bureaucrats, the lawmakers, the average citizens, the cops, anyone involved
in security, and whole lot of others. Here in the USA, it might even cause an
emergency legislation to be enacted banning all such things. Swarms of drones
would be scary except in specifically sanctioned events and with FAA approval
and waiver.

If you haven't seen the 2017 video about slaughterbots, then it might be
worth a watch. In fact, that video is what prompted my interest in quads.

Later, iFly  

I watched a video some time back of a guy that mounted an AR15 to a big quad and flew around shooting targets with it.  I did think if any government saw that it would be the end of our hobby.  But the reality is if a terrorist wants to do it enough, they will.  

Some nut in the UK built what looks a lot like a cruise missile the other week.  Honestly since when does that look like a drone.  It looks nothing like one.



https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cove...e-67805839

Consider that the first drones were like airplanes, not quadcopters, which are 
actually new to the scene of drones. In fact RC aircraft drones and maybe 
even RC Helicopter drones pre-date the quadcopter drones. The definition of a 
drone is simply an unmanned aircraft. The FAA further defines an Unmanned 
Aerial System (UAS) as being an unmanned aircraft that is remotely controlled.
The FAA also defines an aircraft as any object that is capable of maintaining flight
with no reference as to the physical looks or other characteristics. If that craft in
the picture is unmanned and flies, then it is a drone. If it is remotely controlled,
then it is a UAS (Unmanned Aerial System). In fact, it really looks like the drones
used by both the USA and Russian military. If I saw that in the air, I might think
that we were being attacked (ok, maybe not but still, you get the point). By
the FAA definitions a craft can look like a golf club and is still a drone if it is 
unmanned and flies.

You know, I think that it is genius, how the wording in both the law and FAA 
regulations that enact that law is constructed to include virtually ANY type
of craft that can maintain flight (drone) from the past, the present, and even
objects that have not yet ben invented. This basically insures that no person
can say "mine is NOT a drone because it doesn't look like a drone". 

Interestingly, I have been seeing FCs for rockets and folks installing FPV 
cameras on them. According to the FAA definitions, that would be an 
unmanned aircraft (drone) or even a UAS if it was be remotely controlled. 
With the addition of the camera it now becomes an FPV drone. Who knew.
FPV rockets. 

Also, the RC model airplane folks have now discovered that they can install
an FPV camera and fly it FPV. Is that an FPV drone? Absolutely!

It is a misnomer to presume that a quadcopter is the only type of drone. This
is merely a gross misconception by those who do not know nor understand. 

I know it is an all encompassing set of regs, but airplanes, helicopters, quadcopters, etc, I could see as UAS. But that picture looks more like a Tomahawk than anything we would ever fly. I actually watched a video on YT of a guy breaking the speed record with what looked like a fat rocket with a prop on it. So yes I know they do have FPV Rockets of sorts and putting one on a model rocket that used old school solid fuel rocket engines isn't that hard, nor probably making it a guided rocket. It was just more the fact that looks more like a Tomahawk than a DJI Mini or even a Caipirinha.

Here's another scary name to go along with "Drone Swarm", "Suicide Drone". I did some test flights for a company developing small turbine jet powered winged drone assembled from printed parts that could be assembled in the field and launched off a dolly from any short section of road. So it was a UAS when I flew it but after seeing it and flying it I asked the engineer what they called it and he said Oh it's a suicide drone :O The company moved south and offered to fly me down but I passed. Sitting around hotel rooms waiting to fly suicide missions, LOL.

Any ideas how to buy for cheaper?

I don't think there is. Technically you could build them yourself and maybe it would work out cheaper, but then you also need a degree in computer science and probably aerospace tech. A lot of time to tinker with them. The software exists already, but you might need to recode it to do what you want. I suspect using INAV or similar is the starting point, then networking everything together in a mesh network. When you break it down, as long as you have the ability to ascertain and plot the location of each drone inside a 3D model, then you should be able to do what they do and that is basically GPS and a barometer, maybe IR sensors as well.

Would be a cool project to do just with 2-3 drones. But it would definitely get you flagged up by certain gov agencies, if you were developing swarm tech in the drone sector. It's more of a thing that DARPA do, than civilians.