Imagine a drone being used in a terrorist plot. A hand grenade is attached to a drone that drops it into a crowded area. No suicide bombers to recruit. Very little chance of being caught in the act, especially considering that it doesn’t even need to be remote; programmed flight plans can have all of the details plugged in, including when to drop the weapon.
Add that to the fact that a Connecticut teen was able to weaponize a drone with a semi-automatic pistol and the picture starts to become all too clear.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued an intelligence assessment to law enforcement warning them that drones may be used as weapons during a terrorist attack. This has been possible for a while. Why issue the warning now?
Part of it is due to the rise in interest of drones for recreation. They are becoming less expensive and more capable. They are buzzing on the internet and on traditional news channels. Ideas, apparently, are flowing, even from potential terrorists.
According to CBS News:
Currently, intelligence bulletins are released almost weekly as law enforcement responds to threats from ISIS sympathizers. But the release of a bulletin dedicated to the threat from UAS is unusual. The bulletin does not mention any specific upcoming events authorities are concerned about but points to the overall security challenges drones present.
Read more on CBS News.