How did drones become terrorists' killing weapons?

According to industry insiders, military drones are strictly regulated, but civilian drones are not. It is extremely simple to add one or two grenades to the drone.

How did drones become terrorists' killing weapons?

Skywalker X-8 commercial drone with a wingspan of more than two meters is the favorite of amateurs and aerial photography enthusiasts.

However, this kind of drone that can be bought for hundreds of dollars is also the perfect equipment for military reconnaissance, influence observation and even aerial bombing. Soldiers fighting the Islamic State ("Islamic State") in Iraq and Syria found this drone on the battlefield.

According to the information provided by sahan Research, a British think tank, in 20 15, Kurdish armed forces discovered the Skywalker X-8 near the Mosul Dam in Iraq, which was the first time that such a drone was found in a conflict area; 20 16 10, an X-8 carrying a bomb killed two Kurdish soldiers and wounded two French commandos in the same area.

China's world-leading UAV industry has encountered a new problem: UAVs originally used for leisure and entertainment, in addition to taking thrilling selfies on cliffs, have also become a tool for terrorists to kill.

A study by the UAV Research Center of Bader College in new york found that by the end of last year, 32 kinds of UAVs produced in six countries had been found in the conflict between Syria and Iraq.

Although most UAVs found in the conflict are military UAVs, such as Predator UAV in the United States and its counterfeit version Rainbow CH-4 UAV in China, recreational UAVs are widely used as weapons for the first time in this conflict ―― and almost all of them are China brands.

The UAV Research Center said that the adoption of entertainment UAVs has become "a milestone in the large-scale proliferation of aerial surveillance platforms of insurgents and terrorist organizations".

The "Islamic State" demonstrated its ability to arm drones in a video released in January. Since then, "we have seen news that the Islamic State has used drones to attack many different targets almost every day, sometimes even several times a day," said Steve Stalinsky of the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri).

The bomb factory of "Islamic State" has converted Skywalker X-8 and other types of drones into weapons, including DJI produced by Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (DJI), the world's largest commercial drone manufacturer. Now, some entertainment drones claim to be powerful, with a cruising range of 7 kilometers and a payload of 40 kilograms.

The Kurdish autonomous government claims that it has recorded at least two incidents in which drones controlled by the "Islamic State" threw grenades at its armed forces.

The founder of an armed drone manufacturer in Shenzhen said that military drones are strictly regulated, but civilian drones are not. It is extremely simple to add one or two grenades to drones.

Robert Garbett, chairman of Drone Major, a British consulting firm, believes that China's civilian drones occupy a share in the global market and occupy an important position in the arsenal of terrorist organizations for the same reason. He said, "They are very cheap and easy to buy."

UAV manufacturers in China say there is nothing they can do about their products being hijacked by terrorists. DJI Innovation Technology Company lamented that the use of drones on the battlefield was "reprehensible" and "the abuse of technology".

"As manufacturers of drones, like manufacturers of pickup trucks, cars and other items used as weapons in conflict areas, we can't control how people use our products," DJI Innovation Technology told the Financial Times.

Skywalker Technology also stated that it "has no right to ask customers not to modify our products".

Other manufacturers don't seem to realize that their products have other uses besides entertainment.

"We have never heard of such a thing," said the Chinese drone manufacturer. "We don't know anything about it. How does the Islamic State use our products? Our products are only sold in Europe and North America. We sell toy planes. How did they equip toy planes with weapons? "

According to the report of Bader College, the Syrian army shot down a Tian Xiang-made Skyhunter drone on 20 14.

"It is not clear how these drones fell into the hands of the Islamic State," said Dan Gertinger, director of the UAV Research Center at Bard College. However, he pointed out that "there are many dealers selling drones online."

Gatinger said that although drones did not have a strategic impact on operations, they were effectively used as propaganda tools, for example, shooting attack scenes.

"They didn't change the outcome of the Mosul campaign," he said. "However, they have great tactical significance-forcing the US military and other relevant parties to invest in the development of anti-UAV systems and improve their defense capabilities against drones."

Some military and police agencies have been developing methods to protect armed commercial drones, including microwave detection and net capture. Dutch police have even begun to use eagles to shoot down "rogue" drones.

Meanwhile, UAV manufacturers in China have been discussing how to promote global industry standards.

In 20 13, DJI Innovative Technology took the lead in installing a geo-fence system on its drones-using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to prevent drones from working in a specific geographical area, and then other Chinese drone manufacturers also adopted this technology one after another. However, experts point out that it is very easy to get around the limitations of this technology.

Another security measure is to require the buyer to authenticate himself, and to require the drone to carry UDIM, a device similar to a SIM card, as a digital certificate of the drone. UAV manufacturers in China are actively promoting this technology through international standards organizations. Gatinger said that a committee of the organization is developing a global registration system for UAV users.

"China people have done a lot of work in this field, and they very much hope to establish a global standard to hold users responsible for drones," he said. "This does not mean that (this system) must be invincible, can't be deceived, can't be hacked, but must be determined to build such a system."