Today’s small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and they can even be programmed to hit targets without human intervention, based on facial recognition or some other computer wizardry. and terrorist groups or rebel groups in a way that's certainly not good for the United States.” “It levels the playing field between the U.S.

“There are over 100 countries and nonstate groups that have drones today, and the technology is widely proliferating,” said Paul Scharre, a former Army Ranger who is a scholar at the Center for a New American Security and the author of “Army of None,” a book about autonomous weapons. And terrorists will eventually get them, too - a possibility that has homeland security officials scrambling to find a solution, given that there is no surefire defense against them. The next battlefield opponent is likely to have them. military couldn’t have fought the way it did in Iraq or Afghanistan if the enemy had had killer drones. But unlike typical missiles, they can circle above a target, wait for the ideal moment and strike with incredible precision. “It’s something that we can see that is going to be a problem, and we have some defenses, but not enough.”ĭubbed kamikaze, suicide or killer drones, these unmanned aircraft don’t fire missiles - they are the missiles. “I think this is going to be the new IED,” or improvised explosive device, said Shaan Shaikh, a missile expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. troops, but it could also put them - and Americans at home - in great danger from terrorists or nation-states that haven’t previously had access to such lethal and affordable technology. That capability could help save the lives of U.S. They can leapfrog traditional defenses to strike infantry troops anywhere on the battlefield, and they cost just $6,000 apiece, compared to $150,000 for the Hellfire missile typically fired by Predator or Reaper drones. Some experts believe the spread of the semi-autonomous weapons will change ground warfare as profoundly as the machine gun did.

An AeroVironment operator prepares to launch the Switchblade drone at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground. A revolution in unmanned aerial vehicles is unfolding, and the U.S.

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