The ISIS drones when flying toys become terrorists

It is an old phenomenon like war, that is, old as the world the enemy ends up using the weapons you use against him against you.

It is an old phenomenon like war, that is, old as the world the enemy ends up using the weapons you use against him against you. Any effective tool on the battlefield will be copied, because the enemy always learns, and the use of unmanned drones by the military would be no exception.

Since at least 2014 terrorist groups such as Hizbulah, Al Qaeda or Daesh have demonstrated the ability to use flying drones for surveillance, control, espionage and propaganda purposes, but since the end of last year they have also used them in offensive tasks. Have recorded numerous attacks and not a few casualties, especially in the Battle of Mosul. Daesh even has workshops and factories to assemble and adapt their own models, and has developed specific ammunition for use in them.

At the same time the Houthi rebels of Yemen have used a remote-controlled boat to attack a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea. The drones, which were born as a symbol of technological supremacy only within reach of the greatest powers, are now also in the hands of terrorists. Anti-drip systems will therefore be increasingly needed.

A history of drones

Conceptually drones, understood as such to unmanned vehicles designed to damage the enemy, are as old as bullets, mines, torpedoes or missiles. For example, in World War II, (although unsuccessfully) remote-controlled bombers were used in Operation Aphrodite, one of whose attacks killed Joe Kennedy, and the Germans used Fritz-X guided bombs to sink the Italian battleship Rome and other Allied ships .

During the Cold War, spy drones were deployed as the D-M-21 of the A-12 OXCART (predecessor of the SR-71 Blackbird), lures to attract enemy missiles and also unmanned drones as training targets or weapons tests. The American armed forces used them profusely in Vietnam, although the technological limitations of the time caused a high rate of losses of apparatuses.

In its modern incarnation unmanned combat aircraft were developed by Israel from the 70s and 80s to expand their tactical reconnaissance capabilities without putting their pilots at risk. In the 1990s US forces acquired Israeli models that they used in the First Gulf War and began to develop their own projects.

The most known

One of the most well-known is the MQ-1 Predator, launched in 1995 as a reconnaissance and missile weapon since the early 2000s, which became the banner of the global war on terror following the attacks of September 11, 2001. This and other models like its derivative MQ-9 Reaper have been and still are profusely used in the low intensity wars of Iraq and Afghanistan and in antiterrorist actions in numerous countries of Middle East: its success has led to the proliferation of these systems, Which now form part of the arsenal of numerous nations.

Devices like the Predator and its equivalents have capabilities that only nations with powerful military resources can aspire to. They can be directed from the other end of the planet, making extensive use of satellite communications networks, geo-positioning systems and semiautomated navigation electronics. They are often serviced by several crews, one distant who is in charge of the mission, and another who is more concerned with maintenance, and in both cases rotating to ensure very long mission times.

Armed with air-to-surface missiles and various types of 'smart' bombs have proven to be very useful as surveillance systems with great persistence and quick and lethal attack capability, always in environments where air control is firmly in the hands of friendly and enemy It lacks anti-aircraft capability. No terrorist group has the resources to deploy such a system.

Longed for by terrorist groups

Which does not mean they do not crave it. Already since the middle of the first decade of the century, organizations like Hizbulah began using drones to perform tactical reconnaissance tasks, threatening to use them as a 'cruise missile for the poor' to carry out explosive charges in Israel. The models used were of Iranian manufacture and much less sophisticated than those of the western countries but the organization used them during the Israeli incursion to the south of the Lebanon in 2006, without much success.

In 2012, however, a drone incursion from Lebanon, across the Mediterranean and into Gaza came within a few miles of the Dimona nuclear power plant [pdf], the center of the Israeli atomic program, in what was interpreted as a Warning of Iran to deter a possible attack on its own atomic program. Most recently an Israeli F-16 knocked down a drone that had taken off from Gaza. And Houthi forces used a remote-controlled boat to attack a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea.

At the same time, and due to the improvements in battery technologies and automatic control systems, there was an important development of the commercial drones, both for the amateur and aeromodelling market and for the professional, where these devices began to be Used in tasks such as monitoring electric lines or capturing aerial images. Popular models like the Parrot AR helped to normalize the use among fans by facilitating both flight and imaging; Its two versions have among other things automatic stabilization and landing and can be piloted in a simple way using a smartphone.

From the civil to the military market

At the same time as this type of apparatus entered the civilian market the military began to demand adapted versions mainly for the short-range recognition that now form part of the standard equipment of many professional units. Terrorist groups, unable to develop their own technology, began to use the models available in the open market. Thus in the civil war of Syria several factions have used as much military drones of Russian or Iranian origin as commercial devices more or less adapted to their needs. Among the different participants one of the most active has been the Daesh group, especially these days in Mosul.

At first Daesh used commercial tetra or hexacoptera models likely to be acquired in the free market and on surveillance and reconnaissance missions. On several occasions the forces that reconquer the Iraqi territory have detected the use of this type of systems to escort and to watch the route followed by suicide cars or trucks, one of the favorite tactics of the terrorist group. Drones were also used in the making of propaganda videos, a vital activity for the group.

Later on they began to detect models equipped with explosive charges and turned into a kind of 'flying bombs', although their low capacity of transport and their relative slowness and low speed make them vulnerable to being demolished with simple assault rifles or machine guns. Although success did not accompany them however the group continued with the development of this type of armament, which has given rise to some surprises and even a few casualties.

Versions adapted by Daesh

First appeared, both in flight and in the videos, drones adapted for the bombing developed in the own workshops of the group. Phantom 3 Advanced, from Maverick Drone Systems (or its clones) adapted for the launching of bombs made in Daesh's own arsenals began to be seen.

Adapted from 40 mm grenades, with or without mortar fuses added and stabilized with an ex-professed plastic 'tail' Daesh has managed to create launchable mini-bombs by simple mechanisms added to the commercial drones, armament that manufactures in large numbers . Several videos analyzed by Bellingcat discuss different systems of launching, armament and stabilization (queues of various types, including one similar to a ball of badminton and several types of parachutes) tested by the group; In some cases these bombs have come to cause a pair of casualties among the Kurdish Peshmerga, although their effectiveness is more than limited.

A more advanced version baptized by the group like Reaper seems to be a derivative of the commercial model of fixed wing drone Skywalker X-8 endowed with a rudimentary systems of launching of this type of small pumps, insufficient to cause great damage but that can be dangerous For naked infantry or even for light armored vehicles. Fixed wing drones, faster and capable of flying higher, have the drawback that their precision in the launches is much lower.

Drones of homemade manufacture

And it gets even worse when it comes to homemade drones like those that have appeared in Mosul, built with plastic parts, masking tape and model aircraft engines and employed as 'flying bombs', but with very limited success Iraqi troops advancing in Mosul have knocked down dozens of them without causing major damage. To complicate Daesh's plans to increase the use of such devices, US intelligence has succeeded in locating and facilitating the destruction of some of the workshop networks that made both bombs and planes and unmanned helicopters, which will undoubtedly contribute To reduce their use on the battlefield.

What is clear is that drones are already part of the battle, and not only in clashes between advanced armies Hence the interest of many armed forces in deploying the most effective anti-aircraft systems possible. It is the eternal tug-of-war between attack and defense, army and guerrilla, law enforcement and terrorists What one uses the other tries copies and adapts to their own abilities and needs. Helicopters and planes that were recently toys could be effective military tools and lethal risks in the hands of terrorists. Because in war no technological advance remains long unilateral.