In the past year the availability and sophistication of commercially available unmanned aerial vehicles aka UAV aka Drones has skyrocketed. UAVs flying in open public spaces are already common occurrences, and sales of UAVs are expected to increase exponentially in the next two to three years. The impact of commercially available UAVs is far reaching.

While UAVs rapidly expand value creation in many industries, a simultaneous risk grows for our critical infrastructure and safety. Commercial and recreational use represent unintentional risk to public safety through accidental collisions and crashes; and deliberate use of UAVs to inflict harm is largely unmitigated due to the absence of effective UAV detection technology. As UAVs proliferate in the skies, aviation experts and policy makers are increasingly weary that collisions between a passenger jet and a recreational UAV are a matter of If not When. The results will be devastating. What about if a Drone aka UAV was designed to cause harm? Suicide Drones yes sounds crazy but what if? Yes a Drone can be outfitted to carry bombs or gas fly into a crowd or large parade. Someone with intent to harm, a basic understanding of technology and several hundred dollars is now capable of conducting a UAV attack on critical infrastructure including public utilities, oil and gas lines, government buildings, and other sensitive targets.

Trivial ingredients required for such a person to conduct an attack are a commercial off-the-shelf UAV and a lightweight explosive. The UAV and explosive could be easily placed in a premeditated location with a wake-up timer and an automated flight path to execute an attack, while the instigator remains detached, borders away. Incidents like this are no longer limited to war zones. They have cost effective UAV detection systems. That is the answer to scaling protection of infrastructure and the public from nefarious use of UAVs. I will be writing plenty more on this Hot Topic very soon. Just wrap your mind around the thought of Suicide Drones its not a dream its a Reality.