Fox's drone warfare over the US

According to multiple reports News Corp. has been using drone aircraft to snoop on regions of interest from the air and snap photos. One publication points to it using the MicroDrone MD4-1000, a commercial drone from a German tech startup that primarily markets to government agencies like police and fire departments. Another claims that it uses the Parrot AR.Drone quadricopter by France's Parrot SA (EPA: PARRO), a hobbyist model which bills itself as "the flying videogame."

News Corp. openly admits to using drones, with a special feature in its iPad tabloid The Daily dubbed "The Daily Drone". It's been a bit cagey, though, about exactly what models its drone army consists of.

Currently drones are legal for use by hobbyists at up to 400 feet. Businesses, under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's rules are subject to stricter usage criteria. Civil and commercials uses are only allowed for "research and development" purposes, "not for compensation or hire."