Viral video straps colt .45 handgun to a home-use drone

The set-up was created to advertise a range of protective smartphone screens

Screencap of the YouTube video courtesy of ClearPlex shows the drone and the gun

A new viral video has shown that arming drones isn’t just a pastime for governments, as hobbyists are now getting in on the game.

The video, posted on YouTube, showed a Taurus Judge .45 Colt handgun attached to the underbelly of a custom-made carbon-fiber octocopter, with the gun operated by a remote control trigger (a set-up that is illegal in its own right, not just when attached to a drone).

Although the video was created in order to advertise a range a range of protective smartphone screens by ClearPlex (the objects the drone shoots includes a Samsung handset), the ready availability of all these technologies in the US makes the drone’s creation more than just a matter of viral advertising.

Commentators have pointed out that the video is so heavily edited that we never actually see the drone fire and hit an object in a single shot, and so the system might be just too inaccurate to work.

The video also invites viewers to draw connection with the recent development of 3D printed weapons, the combination of which would certainly be of concern to law enforcement agencies