It has been commonplace for ISIS to attack civilians and Iraqi soldiers in Mosul with small drones. They set up hand grenades in plastic tubes under the small drones then when the cameras see they are above civilians or Iraqi soldiers they release this hand grenade and go back to be reloaded over and over again. The Iraqis are now doing tit for tat which makes complete sense so at least the grenade battle from small drones in the air that you often cannot hear (or sometimes even see at night) is at least equalizing now.
A Small electric battery powered drone is so quiet at around 400 feet and above you don't know it is there often until the grenade explodes right next to you. Then it returns home to either Iraqis or ISIS, a new battery pack is installed along with a new grenade in the plastic sheath and while it is dropping it's hand grenade on people the other batteries are being recharged. So, this type of warfare is sort of like an airborne IED that is never ending in this sense unless someone sees it and finds a way to shoot it out of the sky day or night. I could envision in future battles around the world thousands of these types of small drones each with a hand grenade being deployed at the same time over thousands of targets at the same time. and if the User was ISIS or another terrorist group the terrorists don't die either only those targeted ongoing. So, this is a real potential threat to peace everywhere on earth in the future because of how inexpensive these small drones are everywhere and how easy to obtain they are worldwide. And how easy they are to modify with plastic tubes to drop hand grenades on anyone anywhere the weather permits worldwide.
begin quote from:
The militants were using the small unmanned aircraft for both attacks and surveillance. At the peak in February, the Islamic State deployed 10 to 15 drones a day against Iraqi security forces as they fought to clear militants from …
WASHINGTON
— Iraq’s military has turned the tables on the Islamic State’s drone
tactics by improvising its own unmanned aircraft to drop grenades and
other small munitions on the militants in the key battle for Mosul, U.S.
officials say.
The development comes as the threat from Islamic State drones has been effectively neutralized with the help of U.S. and coalition forces, which rushed counter-drone technology to the battle for the city.
Earlier this year Mosul became a proving ground for the emerging threat of cheap drones used by terror groups. The militants were using the small unmanned aircraft for both attacks and surveillance.
At the peak in February, the Islamic State deployed 10 to 15 drones a day against Iraqi security forces as they fought to clear militants from Mosul, said Air Force Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Baghdad.
The number of militant drones is now down to about one or two a day, principally for surveillance, he said. During the past two weeks there have been no recorded incidents of militants using an armed drone in Iraq or Syria, according to coalition military statistics.
The militants’ use of drones in Mosul highlighted the danger commercial drones have in the hands of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
“They’ve actually gone to almost swarm-level capability in a couple of cases,” Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy, commander of the Combined Arms Center, said last month. The Army has been studying the militants' use of drones in Mosul to counter the threat in the future.
“It’s a serious concern,” said Seth Jones, a counterterrorism expert at RAND Corp. “A range of terror organizations are able to buy off-the-shelf drones and use them against the United States and its allies.”
Jones said terror groups are likely looking for ways to put larger munitions on the drones. In Iraq and Syria, the militants mostly used small grenade-sized munitions or mortar shells on drones.
The development comes as the threat from Islamic State drones has been effectively neutralized with the help of U.S. and coalition forces, which rushed counter-drone technology to the battle for the city.
Earlier this year Mosul became a proving ground for the emerging threat of cheap drones used by terror groups. The militants were using the small unmanned aircraft for both attacks and surveillance.
At the peak in February, the Islamic State deployed 10 to 15 drones a day against Iraqi security forces as they fought to clear militants from Mosul, said Air Force Col. John Dorrian, a military spokesman in Baghdad.
The number of militant drones is now down to about one or two a day, principally for surveillance, he said. During the past two weeks there have been no recorded incidents of militants using an armed drone in Iraq or Syria, according to coalition military statistics.
The militants’ use of drones in Mosul highlighted the danger commercial drones have in the hands of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
“They’ve actually gone to almost swarm-level capability in a couple of cases,” Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy, commander of the Combined Arms Center, said last month. The Army has been studying the militants' use of drones in Mosul to counter the threat in the future.
“It’s a serious concern,” said Seth Jones, a counterterrorism expert at RAND Corp. “A range of terror organizations are able to buy off-the-shelf drones and use them against the United States and its allies.”
Jones said terror groups are likely looking for ways to put larger munitions on the drones. In Iraq and Syria, the militants mostly used small grenade-sized munitions or mortar shells on drones.
Iraqi forces have not released data on how many deaths or injuries have been caused by drones. No U.S. forces have been injured by drones in Iraq or Syria.
Their main benefit is surveillance, particularly in a crowded city like Mosul. The small aircraft, which have a range of several miles, can maneuver through tight streets and alleys to see what lies ahead. Iraqi forces now use them to identify militant snipers, which have been a significant threat in western Mosul.
ADVERTISING
The small quad copters and other small commercial aircraft don’t compare to the level of sophistication and firepower of U.S. Predators and Reapers, which can stay in the sky for long periods of time and fire weapons with precision.
The militants have been indiscriminate in their use of drones, the U.S. military said. “They just dropped (munitions) and they didn’t care who they dropped it on,” said Marine Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe, director of the Combined Joint Operations Center-Baghdad.
But the weaponized drones have captured headlines, producing a propaganda benefit for ISIS. “It’s more of a psychological effect than anything else,” said Patrick Martin, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
Read more:
No comments:
Post a Comment