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| A commercial off-the-shelf drone |
By: Matthew L. Schehl
Drone warfare recently entered a new chapter in which America’s adversaries can successfully deliver explosives via cheap, commercially available unmanned aircraft, challenging the U.S. military to go on the defensive.
Drone warfare recently entered a new chapter in which America’s adversaries can successfully deliver explosives via cheap, commercially available unmanned aircraft, challenging the U.S. military to go on the defensive.
An explosives-laden Islamic State drone killed two Kurdish peshmerga troops and wounded two French paratroopers early this month in the vicinity of Erbil, Iraq, Popular Science reported. It is believed to be the first time the militant group has inflicted such casualties.
The drone exploded while it was being inspected after being shot down, Air Force Col. John Dorrian, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman, confirmed Wednesday.
“We’ve seen several reports about ISIS use of commercial off-the-shelf drones, including instances where they’ve used these capabilities to deliver explosives,” Dorrian told reporters in a Pentagon teleconference from Baghdad, Iraq.
“It’s a threat that’s not new to the area,” he said, calling the attack a Trojan Horse-style attack.
Nor is it the first time ISIS has tried.
There are at least two other instances over the last month that ISIS has tried to use drones to deliver explosives, according to The New York Times.
Read the full story at Marine Corps Times