National drone defences are underprepared for the threat of domestic extremism, according to a new policy briefing.
The number of potentially violent plots making use of UAVs has increased sharply over the past five years. Researchers James Paterson and Lydia Khalil for Australia’s Lowy Institute claim that
Domestic extremist actors are incorporating drone technology into operational capabilities and attack plots, taking inspiration from the battlefield.
Whereas the Ukraine war first highlighted the military potential of drones—illustrated by recent incursions into Estonia and Latvia—the authors claim governments are failing to grasp the threats posed and defence vulnerabilities created by non-state actors using the equipment:
Easy-to-access technologies, such as 3D printing, open-source design files, additive hardware and AI-assisted navigation are lowering the barriers to modifying and weaponising drones.
The report tracks concerns that the UAV-based tactics of the Islamic State, Houthis, and Hamas could leak into the planning of domestic terror plots—and the prospect that governments and security services could be failing to prepare adequately. According to The ungoverned sky: Drones and the domestic extremist threat, domestic counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) taskforces are one major counterterrorism priority in the period ahead.
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