Given that aircraft fly faster (in the case of large aircraft, a lot faster) than these drones, the article's choice of words that makes it sound like the drones "buzz" aircraft seems pretty misleading. It's the aircraft that fly into the drones, not the other way around.<p>The real issue isn't what the drones <i>do</i>, it's that they're around at all, because the speeds and sizes involved makes it very difficult to see and avoid them whatever they do. In that sense, they're not that different from birds.<p>There sure are a lot more birds than drones, but on the other hand I'm not sure what the relative effect on a small aircraft from the impact of a (relatively soft) bird versus a (hard) drone is.