9.4 - Blog: The Future of the UAS
How to I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb dropping UAS
I know, a Dr. Strangelove reference, and Slim Pickens won't be riding on a UAS anytime soon, but it couldn’t be
helped because the days are here when terror organizations weaponize commercial
UAVs and use them to drop explosives. There is a crude video online with a
commercial quad copter releasing a small blue explosive on an unsuspecting position
(Josh,
2016). Then in October, a booby-trapped UAV reportedly exploded and two Kurdish
fighters were killed and two French soldiers were wounded (Benoit, 2016). The
UAV landed and after the forces approached to investigate, it detonated. Word
will spread quickly and this technique will not be as effective because
soldiers will destroy the UAV, rather than approach it. Other techniques will
be harder to deter. First person viewing (FPV), combined with a small payload,
accurately placed could be a formidable weapon. Currently available small UAS
don’t carry heavy payloads, but small explosives dropped precisely can damage
critical components, and the threat is likely here.
Future terror applications
It’s not hard to envision a commercial UAS,
flying directly over a target, releasing an explosive, and retreating. It would
be very difficult for law enforcement to track the small craft, and find the
perpetrator. In fact, if the quad copter releases the explosive from high
enough, no one on the ground may be aware of it at all, and would not know
where bomb came from.
What about other payloads? Are releases of
chemical agents much farther behind? It’s not a stretch from agricultural
applications, to releasing nerve or blister agents to a small area. Again,
probably not a large scale weapon, but there are many soft targets to harass.
Relatively small commercial UAVs can carry
several pounds of payload, including a camera for targeting. Even if the range is limited to a mile or
less, a weapon from above is very dangerous. Consider all the outdoor events by
political leaders, or sporting events, etc. The targets are almost unlimited if
terror is the goal. Will a UAS deliver an IED in to a crowd (Bunker, 2015). If
one UAS is effective, how about flying 50 of them to a target? How long until a
small UAS, flies directly in to the path of a commercial airplane? Unfortunately,
the threat options are only limited by the terrorist creativity.
Countering the threat
Anti UAS weapons are going to be needed,
and sooner rather than later. A dedicated adversary will change attack
strategies and no doubt adapt to counter threats, so technology and methods must
be developed to target and disrupt incoming UAS attacks quickly and
effectively. The Battelle systems DroneDefender claims this ability (Battelle,
2016). It reportedly interrupts the GPS and control signals, diverting or
downing the attacker. The devices can be disrupted kinetically, but countering
a small, relatively silent UAS will likely remain difficult for those charged
with protecting civilians.
Battelle. (2016). Our Work | National
Security | Tactical Systems | Battelle DroneDefender™ | Battelle. Retrieved
from
http://www.battelle.org/our-work/national-security/tactical-systems/battelle-dronedefender
Benoit, D. (2016, November 29). Growing
fears of IS use of weaponised drones [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://phys.org/news/2016-11-weaponised-drones.html
Bunker, R. J. (2015, August).
TERRORIST AND INSURGENT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES: USE, POTENTIALS, AND MILITARY
IMPLICATIONS. Retrieved from
https://www.oodaloop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/pub1287.pdf
Josh. (2016, September 3). Weaponized
Quad-copter Drone Drops Warheads On Foreheads [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.funker530.com/weaponized-quad-drops/
McCuley, R. (2016, October 11).
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Reaching the Tipping Point of a New Revolution in
Aviation. Retrieved from
http://www.govtech.com/fs/Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles-Reaching-the-Tipping-Point-of-a-New-Revolution-in-Aviation.html
