Small Wars Journal

Criminals & Armed Drones

Tue, 10/24/2017 - 7:00pm

Terror From Skies as Mexican Cartel Attaches Bomb to Drone by Stephen Dinan - Washington Times

Mexican police discovered four men carting a kamikaze drone equipped with an IED and a remote detonator last week, in what analysts say is an example of cartels figuring out how to weaponizing UAVs.

The disturbing development is a manifestation of something top American security chiefs warned Congress about earlier this year, when they said they feared terrorists would begin to use drones to attack targets within the U.S.

Drug cartels had already been turning to drones to smuggle their product into the U.S., and had begun using IEDs in their turf struggles — but now at least cartel appears to have put the two technologies together, according to Mexican reports analyzed by Small Wars Journal.

“A weaponized drone/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/unmanned aerial system (UAS) with a remotely detonated IED allows for a precision strike to take place against an intended target,” Robert Bunker and John P. Sullivan, the authors of the new analysis, wrote

Read on.

Mexican Cartels Set to Use Drones Carrying Explosives in U.S. – Fox News

Mexican police reportedly pulled over four men driving a stolen pick-up truck and discovered a drone carrying an explosive device in the vehicle, leading some analysts to fear drug cartels may have figured out how to arm the devices to attack opponents -- including those inside the United States.

Federal police discovered the drone attached to the IED last week during a traffic stop in Guanajunto, where several cartels are known to operate, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Small Wars Journal reported.

Besides the drone, police found phones, an AK-47 and ammunition. An improvised explosive device was taped to the drone, 3Dr Solo Quadcopter, that could reportedly be detonated with a remote control. It was not clear if the four men were a part of any criminal group. The drone had a range of about half a mile, but modifications would have allowed it to fly farther…

Read on.

Categories: El Centro