Originally Posted by
mauve
A DJI Mavic Pro can climb at 5 m/s and descend at 3 m/s. That's about four minutes to get up and six minutes to get down, leaving at least 10-15 minutes of operating time.
DJI limits their drones to 500m unless they are hacked. I have no idea how complex the hack to remove the limit is. Other manufacturers are similar I believe.
Originally Posted by
chollie
Not to stay into OMNI territory, but perhaps there's something about the technology that would enable LE to take over the drone.
"Taking over" an aircraft in flight safely and quickly by an untrained person with line-of-sight (maybe) would be technically challenging. Even if technically feasible, this would be like giving LE a backdoor to device/content encryption. Back doors weaken security for everyone and are an easy target for serious hackers with bad intentions.
Someone who is technically skilled or well funded could easily replace the software with something with no limits that can't be intercepted/overridden.
Well-written laws with well-defined well-enforced criminal and civil penalties for bodily harm, property damage, and disruptions are the only answer. The reality is that model-aircraft and model-rockets that could cause these sorts of disruptions have been used for decades, but the technical, financial, and time-commitment barriers were sufficient that the hobby communities stayed generally well behaved.
Now the technology has been made easy to access by any idiot with some cash or an internet connection. The results are predictable.