[pxtail]

But the obvious difference is that binoculars were not sold with citizen from the other country attached who would stand near and occasionally would peer through and also report to office worker exact position of the binoculars owner AND also recite content of his personal notebook. Quite difference isn't it?

[thriftwy]

AFAIK, soldiers flash a custom firmware on these drones before they are deployed to the battlefield. I imagine it has phoning home and tracking features removed.

It's not like the battlefield will have reliable wi-fi/4g coverage anyway.