Counter-UAS Essential to Quell Potential Drone Terrorism


Drones were novel and rare fifteen years ago, but now – thanks to leaps in technology – they are cheap and easy to acquire for anyone. In 2024, the worldwide drone market is valued at US$29.96 billion, with estimates predicting it will reach US$223.66bn by the end of 2034.


Back in 2016, the militaries of 86 countries had some drone capability. By 2022, that number moved into triple figures, and is only continuing to increase.


But it’s not just militaries that have become accustomed to the weaponised use of drones. Drones are now common among terrorist groups and fringe actors due to the facts they’re cheap, easy to acquire, and highly portable. They offer a distinct tactical advantage for armed militants looking to implement asymmetric warfare.


In short, drones are a game-changer.

The warnings have been around for some time.


Almost a decade ago, Chris Abbott, research fellow at Bradford University’s School of Social and International Studies, said, “The use of drones for surveillance and attack is no longer the purview of state militaries alone. A range of terrorist, insurgent, criminal, corporate, and activist groups have already shown their desire and ability to use drones … The government needs to take this threat seriously.”

 

Over the years, we have seen evolving use of drones by armed groups on a range of applications – from filming propaganda videos by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) to scouting enemy positions to now targeting artillery and mortar fire in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and the Ukraine.


Once upon a time, terrorist groups’ drone technology rapidly evolved from being unreliable and ineffective against military bases because they were slow, easy to shoot down, and could carry limited cargo.


That has drastically changed, and militants have made significant and effective progress in turning drones into weapons against militaries and the general public. Experts have increasingly warned that it’s only a matter of time until an organisation or even lone wolf uses drones to coordinate or conduct an attack in the US or Europe, or even Australia.

Terrorist Applications for Drones

The current scope of ways in which drones are being weaponized include:

Surveillance for attacks

Embed from Getty Images

Drone reportedly used for surveillance before attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Battlefield Deployment

  • The ease of access and affordability of drones has paved the way for terrorist groups to develop their own drone fleets as alternative to traditional weapons or specialised uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) that can be used against Western forces.

Swarming

  • Swarming involves a large amount of drones simultaneously attacking a military or civilian target from number of directions, carrying explosive charges or similar.

  • This is a key threat, now taken very seriously by a number of government agencies. There is heightened recognition that traditional means of taking down drones – shooting them – comes with limitations, which has caused a surge in demand for alternative options, including radio frequency (RF) jamming.

Bomb Delivery System

  • Targeting a stadium, concert venue, or other gathering place for a large number of people is highly likely but so too is targeting government buildings, nuclear power plants, dams, data centres and foreign embassies.

Chemical Warfare

  • Adapting crop-spraying drones to deploy a biological agent. It’s not a new idea and unlikely to be lethal on a large scale, but it could have a negative psychological effort on the civilian population regardless.

Sabotage

  • This could include deliberately flying a drone into an aircraft’s engine to cause catastrophic engine failure, or causing damage to critical infrastructure; a drone dangling wires over an electrical plant can take down a grid.

Spreading Propaganda

  • We have already seen this from both ISIS and the Taliban with drone-shot videos of skirmishes intended to promote their cause.

Drones Are Here to Stay

It’s well documented that drones are a threat to national and world security when they fall into the wrong hands, and governments worldwide have made reasonable progress to respond to this threat on and off the battlefield.


While the technology of remote-controlled warfare is impossible to completely control, there are countermeasures that governments, militaries, and police around the world can take to minimize the opportunities that terrorists have to deploy weaponized commercially-available drones.


Currently, drones range from small toy drones up to large military models and their uses range from aerial filmography, industrial applications, journalism, and more. The first step for many governments was to introduce regulations to control where and when drones could be used – such as restricting airspace at sensitive locations (ie. near military bases, airports and prisons) and events. Some looked to registry programs and licenses, but those ambitions have dulled given just how accessible drones are to consumers.


The next countermeasure was fighting fire with fire. But in reality, the old-hat method of shooting at anything that can pose a threat proves extremely difficult when the target is a small object moving at 100kph in often unpredictable patterns. Many militaries have tried doing so using small arms, but it almost never works unless the drone is extremely close, and if there’s only very few of them.


This has triggered the need for advanced counterdrone – or counter-UAS – capabilities focused on soft kill, such as RF jamming, often backed by intelligent systems that leverage AI for early detection. This approach has been a centrepiece of Ukraine’s defence against Russia – smart jamming using RF has helped actively monitor for drones to a more effective degree than traditional sensors, so they can be taken down with handheld devices without explosions or the risk of collateral damage. That same approach is highly effective in civilian settings, particularly as the risk of harm to civilians is almost nullified.


A centrepiece of Ukraine’s defence against Russia is the use of soft kill capabilities to defeat drones. Soft kill – or smart jamming – uses radio frequency (RF) instead of bullets and lasers. It can actively monitor for drones that yesteryear’s sensors can’t, and take them down using handheld devices without explosions.


The added benefit of this strategy is that a jammed drone remains intact so it can be retrieved for forensic investigation. This gives defense forces the ability to review data, including photos, videos, flights, and location information to pinpoint operators.

Get in touch with DroneShield

Counter-UAS (or C-UAS) capabilities – including DroneShield’s DroneSentry-C2 Tactical command-and-control solution, DroneSentry and DroneSentry-X autonomous detection and (optionally) defeat, and DroneGun Mk4 portable handheld counterdrone systems – are specifically designed to detect and prevent drones being used to cause harm by terrorists.

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