China May Use Pigeon Drones for Citizen Surveillance

Chinese authorities are reportedly testing “pigeon” drones that mimic the behavior of real birds to monitor citizens in certain regions. According to South China Morning Post, the government is developing a program codenamed “Dove” to create drones that imitate bird movements.

These drones can flap their wings, smoothly gain altitude, and make sharp maneuvers in the air. They are also nearly invisible to the human eye and radar systems. Each drone is equipped with a camera, a satellite transmitter, and a location sensor.

Sources from South China Morning Post report that over 2,000 test flights have already been conducted along the borders with Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, as well as in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Previously, SecurityLab reported on the Chinese government’s plans to launch a large-scale program to track vehicles using special RFID tags.