The U.S. and its allies use advanced drones weighing thousands of pounds, are controlled sometimes from thousands of miles away, can loiter for hours, and can rain death from above.
But, they are increasingly freaking out about ISIS use of toy drones with cameras or small explosives.
The Mosul battle in Iraq has seen the Islamic State group increasingly resort to weaponised drones, which Western governments fear could lead to a new type of attack at home.
France issued an internal note to its security forces last week warning that “this threat is to be taken into account nationwide” and ordering any drone be treated as a “suspicious package”.
ISIS Drones Limited Capabilities
But farther down in the article, we learn:
Experts argue that, compared to the suicide car and truck bombs IS sometimes fills with several tonnes of explosives, drones represent a minor threat.
Their autonomy is limited and they cannot carry heavy payloads.
Exactly. A DJI Phantom with a camera or small amount of explosive is no car bomb. And it’s certainly not a Predator.
Source: Growing fears of IS use of weaponised drones
See my other work on “drone terrorism” and the rhetoric of threat inflation:
