Terrorist Drone Warning in India – Another Reason for Action on U.S. Airspace

Days after Japanese authorities arrested the man responsible for flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (or “drone”), carrying radioactive sand, onto the roof of the Prime Minister’s office to protest Japan’s nuclear energy policies,  The New Indian Express is reporting that Indian intelligence has advised police in Delhi that U.S. designated terrorist organizations Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been planning an “aerial attack” on the city that may involve the use of drones.  Indian authorities are linking the planning of this attack to the recent release from Pakistani prison of Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, an LeT operative and mastermind of the 2008 jihadist attacks on Mumbai.

The alert from Indian intelligence is yet another reminder that malicious actors, including terrorist organizations, continue to have very serious interest in using drones to initiate attacks on civilian targets.  As I noted recently over at Homeland Security Today:

…The average private individual can purchase drones for recreational purposes, and the equipment to build a rudimentary drone is widely available commercially – and, they could potentially be configured to carry out explosive or other attacks; or be used for surveillance purposes in aiding the planning and execution of an attack by other means.

Because such drones are small and fly at low altitudes, are portable and can be launched with relative ease, they present a sort of “less is more” challenge for national security apparatuses typically wired to deal with higher-profile aerial threats like hijacked commercial airliners or other large, manned aircraft.

The New York Police Department already has expressed its concern that drones could be used in terrorist attacks on New York City — a legitimate concern prompted in part by a drone landing on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s podium during a 2013 speech in Germany. French authorities have yet to identify who is behind a series of unauthorized drone flights over landmarks and sensitive installations across France, and some officials in federal law enforcement have said drug cartels likely will start using drones to enhance their surveillance capabilities along border areas…

This report out of India is another indication that now is the time for U.S. homeland security and law enforcement (at the federal, state and local level) to 1) invest in and deploy counter-drone technologies to address the use of drones in U.S. airspace for terrorist or criminal purposes; and 2) develop the tactical protocols needed to guide law enforcement’s on-the-ground response to such drone use.