...crashed on its way to the US from Mexico. The drone was overloaded because the smugglers were too greedy but drones are a lot cheaper than tunnels.
When I saw the story the other day about a drone landing on the White House grounds, I started thinking, if a drone can fly unchallenged onto the grounds of what's supposed to be one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the world, what else could drones be used for?
And I thought of this chilling scenario: suppose terrorists acquire a few drones. I'm not sure how difficult that is today, but I expect that if they aren't easy to purchase/steal now, they will be in the near future when they're commonly used by businesses for such things as package delivery. The terrorists also purchase or steal some deadly toxin, e.g. sarin gas, or some radioactive material for "dirty bombs". And they make some compact explosive devices, small enough to be carried by a drone. They package the bombs in FedEx or Amazon boxes so as not to arouse suspicion, simultaneously fly the drones into the hearts of some major cities in the US and/or Europe, and detonate the bombs via remote control.
If I can think of such a scenario, you can bet terrorists are thinking about it.
Which raises the question: do we really NEED drones for widespread commercial use? How fast do you need your Amazon purchase delivered?
I don't simply look at this from a terrorist perspective, but also from a criminal and foreign actor perspective. Firstly, I think the US Government has to bear some of the blame for the rapid expansion of drone technology. Our over reliance on drone technology in the Middle East has given an effective blueprint for any nation or terrorist of how drones can be effectively used in combat/assassination operations. Currently commercially available drones are not capable of weapons delivery, but I could imagine the drones that are being developed for Amazon and others, could easily be modified for such purpose. Furthermore, I believe anyone with the proper motivation could build one capable of weapons delivery.
Firstly, we need to make sure that military grade drones are never made commercially available to the public or Law Enforcement.
Secondly, we need to establish commercial regulations for drone usage. Currently there are none and the FAA is trying their best to get a handle on drone situation. Currently. its the wild west for drone usage. And I hope that e would be smart in this area because many flight hobbyists/photographers may get caught up unnecessarily in onerous regulation. In the latter example, used as a means to restrict free speech.
Thirdly, we need to develop effective anti-drone technologies. Drones could be easily deployed against critical infrastructure with relative ease, especially if launch from internal (USA) locations.
Finally, perhaps we need to institute a program similar to what we have for materials that can be used for explosive making. The Feds routinely track large scale purchases of fertilizer and chemicals that can be used for bomb making. Perhaps we can do the same for materials that could be used to weaponize or create a military grade drone.
Drone expansion is going to be a tough nut to crack and I'm not sure there will be an easily solution to this potential threat. However, this is all about risk management. Identify the areas at most risk and start from there, otherwise we get legislation like the Patriot Act passed by congress.
...crashed on its way to the US from Mexico. The drone was overloaded because the smugglers were too greedy but drones are a lot cheaper than tunnels.
Only possible under the Obama administration.
You must have forgotten your meds today
Are you saying the cartel and Obama are buddies?
The concept appears highly unreliable, when there are current reliable sources FedEx, UPS, USPS etc.