Military Experts Highlight Terrorist UAV Fears

Military analysts have commented on the possibility of terrorist groups employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in attacks - highlighting the simplicity with which such remote controlled devices could bypass security.

Opinions on the subject were aired at a recent conference held at the Royal United Services Institute. Among them, that of the Ministry of Defense's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Center's Rear Admiral Chris Parry, who said: "Sooner or later we're going to see a Cessna (light commercial aircraft) programmed to fly into a building."

UAVs "Ideal" Terrorist Weapons: Parry

Small, remotely-controlled aerial craft, Parry stressed, stood as "ideal weapons" as far as terrorists were concerned, since they are simple to construct, and can potentially avoid radar detection.

"They are cheap", he said. "They don't need as much motor power or fuel, and they're difficult to detect - about as difficult to detect as a blackbird."

His thoughts were mirrored by others at the conference.

"It is very easy to go to the Internet ... or go down to the scrap yard and put a robot together," said Richard Starkey, a computer scientist.

"You don't need (it) to last long if you want to explode it among a civilian population."

Both men highlighted Hezbollah's use of UAVs against Israel two years ago.

Five years ago, six members of militant group Hamas lost their lives when the UAV they were examining exploded.

Groups linked to al-Qaeda have, according to some reports, contemplated deploying UAVs.

US Military Using UAVs Over Iraq

In US military use, UAVs such as the Predator have seen extensive use over Iraq.

For the coming year, the Pentagon has requested $3.4 billion in funding for UAV development.

Source - Armed Forces International's Aviation Expert

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