--- title: "Dunce-Like Senator Posts Photo of “Drone” That’s Actually a TIE Fighter From “Star Wars”" description: "Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano posted a picture of a \"crashed drone.\" It's a TIE fighter movie prop from Star Wars." date: "2024-12-17" modified: "2024-12-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/senator-photo-drone-tie-fighter-star-wars" categories: - "Drones" - "Future Society" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "drones" - "star wars" - "the digest" --- # Dunce-Like Senator Posts Photo of “Drone” That’s Actually a TIE Fighter From “Star Wars” ![Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano posted a picture of a "crashed drone." It's a TIE fighter movie prop from Star Wars.]() *\Image: Doug Mastriano via X\* ## Imperial Probe Droid We still don't know what's behind [reports of mysterious "car-sized" drones]() circling over the skies of much of the East Coast over the past weeks. And while the [FBI and other agencies are continuing their investigation]() into the sightings, people are coming up with [increasingly unhinged "evidence]()" of a government conspiracy. Case in point, Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano [posted a picture]() of what he claimed to be a "crashed drone" on X-formerly-Twitter earlier this week. As practically anybody who's ever watched a movie could tell immediately, the picture showed a replica of a TIE Fighter spacecraft from the fictional "Star Wars" universe, tied to the back of a semi-truck. "You can’t be that stupid," one user [shot back](), "or can you?" Others took the opportunity to indulge in humor steeped in "Star Wars" lore. "Many Bothans died to bring us this information, Senator," another user wrote, referring to a fictional species that secretly informed the Rebel Alliance of the location of Emperor Palpatine's presence aboard the second Death Star. "Please do something." https://twitter.com/SenMastriano/status/1868794734530953444 ## Nerf Herders The news comes after Former governor of Maryland Larry Hogan [shared a video]() last week, claiming to have "personally witnessed... dozens of large drones in the sky above my residence." As the X community quickly pointed out, Hogan [appeared to be referring to the constellation Orion](), and specifically the stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, which are established by science to not be drones. In short, the theory that these "mysterious drones" are simply commercial aircraft, satellites, or even stars is growing by the day. "We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones," White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a Monday briefing, as [quoted by *CNN*](). "I can’t rule out the fact that we might find some sort of illegal or criminal activity, some nefarious activity, (but) all I can do is tell you that right now we see none of that," he added. If it were up to Mastriano, however, the federal government would simply shoot these drones — whatever they may be — out of the sky without a second thought. "The fecklessness of this administration was on display last year when a Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to fly over the entire continental United States before being [shot down]()," he wrote in his post. "Such should be viewed as a threat to our nation and citizens and action is long overdue." Meanwhile, netizens were apparently not convinced of this urgency, given the fact that he shared a picture of a movie prop to underline his point. "These aren’t the drones you’re looking for," one X user [replied]() to the senator. "Move along." "In any normal country, this would be a career-ending diatribe," another user [argued](). **More on the drones:** *[Former Governor of Maryland Mocked for Posting Video of "Drones" That Appear to Be Ordinary Stars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()