There is growing concern that someone could use a drone or drones to launch an attack on the nation's capital, as sightings of them hovering in no-fly zones continue to increase.
The Washington Post spoke with Col. Patrick Duggan who overseas two Army bases in and around Washington, D.C. Duggan admitted that drones are detected where they shouldn't be on a regular basis.
"Are they bad guys? Well, we don’t know," said Duggan, noting that he detected almost 100 drones flying near his bases last summer. "It's a technology that can be used to attack us at home. Why? Because we are not as prepared as we need to be."
There are several no-fly zones in the nation's capital region, including over the White House, Capitol Building, Naval Observatory, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and the multiple military installations — including the Pentagon — scattered around the area. The no-fly zone is for both standard aircraft and drones.
The Post reported that four drones were detected flying near the Pentagon last summer. Authorities responded, but they were unable to locate them. In other cases internationally, drones have landed near German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the office of the Japanese prime minister.
In a legal sense, dealing with drones is not easy because they are commercially available and are essentially remote-controlled devices piloted by someone on the ground. They are not illegal to purchase and use, except in no-fly areas.
In a separate interview last fall, Duggan told the Pentagram there is a real concern that drones would eventually be used to stage some sort of attack.
"It's only a matter of time before drones will be used to carry chemicals, explosives, small arms or kamikaze into a facility, person or throng of crowds on a military base," he said.
The Islamic State (ISIS) used attack drones during the battle for Mosul in recent years, dropping crude bombs, and even hand grenades, on coalition forces.
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