USING FUTURE DRONES, SCENES FROM THE “TERMINATOR” COULD BECOME REALITY

….An expensive, programmable drone.

The time is running out for the US to deal with a terrorist drone.

Are you as fascinated with drones as I am?

I am amazed that it took so long for the small, multi-prop drones to be designed and to hit the market.  I have some relatives that have the more professional units in the well over $1000 range, and then there are the neighbor’s kids that have the $25-$35 dollar versions.

But now we have a dark side to these amazing devices.

These seemingly benign and fun to play with devices can today be used to spy on us, to threaten the nation’s critical infrastructure, or they can be used to attack crowds and public places.

For years, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has worried about the dangers of unmanned aerial systems including these small drones, and they have sought the legal authority to protect Americans against corrupted aerial devices. Today they are telling Congress, that time is running out.

DHS is now telling Congress that the threat is outpacing the government’s ability to respond. Without congressional action, the US  government will remain unable to identify, track and deal with weaponized or dangerous drones in our skies.

Last month, officials at US Customs and Border Protection reported an increase in the use of drones at both of our borders.  International criminals are exploiting these systems to search for any security border gaps so they can avoid our officers and sneak into the country undetected.

Criminals are also using these drones to smuggle in drugs.

 

…An inexpensive kids drone.

Just last year, Border Patrol agents arrested a 25-year-old man for using a drone to ferry tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine across the southwest border.  Now this was someone that got caught, but we don’t know what hasn’t got caught?  This raises the obvious issue that other dangerous goods have probably already been transported this same way.

But this is just the tip of a gigantic iceberg.

Terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) have made it clear that they aim to use armed drones against our homeland and our interests overseas. They have deployed bomb-laden aerial devices on the battlefield to surveil, disrupt and kill our forces, and ISIS is sharing that expertise with other terror groups.

We have been working with our international partners to stop terrorist plots that could have involved drone technology. But we must now acknowledge that our first and last chance to stop a malicious drone might only be during its final approach to a target.

The laws on the books today were not written with weaponized drones in mind. As a result, the nation’s two biggest law enforcement departments, that being DHS and the Justice Department, they have their hands tied when it comes to protecting Americans at home.

Today, we only have limited capabilities for scanning the skies looking for rogue drones, and we largely lack the updated tools and most sophisticated abilities to monitor and deal with inbound threats.

As an example, DHS should be able to access transmitted signals between a terrorist drone and its ground controller to accurately locate both quickly. This could allow authorities to take control of the device or stop its operator on the ground to prevent a potential attack.  Yet current legal constraints prohibit the government from doing so and from addressing other drone-threat scenarios, such as drones configured to operate without a human operator, which will require a separate set of solutions.

What is really bizarre is that as of today, the government is prevented from even testing certain drone-defense technologies where we really need them, such as in urban environments to protect large gatherings and public events.  It is possible that today a drone with a large explosive device or with a nerve gas tank could be sent to attack something such as a Super Bowl game or a political rally or even a presidential convention.

Some in Congress have recognized these problems and have stepped up. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), among others, have championed legislative fixes to give DHS and the Justice Department the authority to develop, test and deploy advanced and workable counter-drone technology.

The US Defense Department has already done things to protect our US forces overseas and in certain domestic defense facilities. But it’s time we had this same ability to protect American citizens here at home.

We can no longer afford to wait.

Our enemies are aware of our vulnerabilities and they are highly motivated and eager to exploit them.

Let’s stop admiring the problem and start solving it. The House and Senate should approve a legislative fix at the earliest possible opportunity.

But under the Trump administration, he will probably say that nothing can be done until they give him the money to build his stupid “Wall”.

The DHS has stated that as this drone technology improves, a future 9/11 attack could again occur, and this time it could be done without hijacking commercial jets.

Copyright G.Ater  2018