Get ready for DRONE WARS says US Army

Get ready for DRONE WARS says US Army



US warplanners are going to have to deal with an increasing drone threat, both from off-the-shelf hardware today to possibly more intelligent dangers.

The increasing power and sophistication of "hobby drones" is making them attractive to insurgents, according to a report drafted by the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, for the US Army. In the future swarming technologies for such drones could arrive much sooner for warfare and will pose a dangerous threat to infantry units.

“Hobby drones are easy to buy, their performance is improving dramatically, and their cost has dropped significantly; now with millions of them around the world, they pose a growing threat to the U.S. warfighting forces if used for nefarious intents,” said Albert Sciarretta, chair of the committee, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, and president of CNS Technologies, an independent consultancy company based in Virginia

“The threats could be consumer items like hobby drones, modified consumer items such as could be assembled with online components, and customized ones, like built-from-scratch aircraft."

It did warn, however that the capabilities of these small, toy drones are improving rapidly. They can be used to carry weapons, and utilise computer vision software to pick out targets from long distances, and even disturb enemy radio frequencies.

“Modified hobby drones can be used to support conventional and unconventional attacks. For example, they can be fitted with external or embedded explosives designed to explode on contact. In addition, they can be used by adversaries to jam our radio frequency signals and to support their information operations. When these sUASs are combined in groups or swarms, their threat is significantly enhanced," Sciarretta said.

[link to www.theregister.co.uk (secure)]