Terror Plot Involved Remote Control Planes

A plot against the Pentagon and the Capitol allegedly planned by a 26-year-old physics graduate and model hobbyist from Massachusetts included building small, explosive-laden remote control drones to attack targets,  The Washington Post reports.

Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S.-born citizen of South Asian background, intended to launch three small GPS-guided aircraft from East Potomac Park — two against the Pentagon and one against the Capitol, according to a detailed plan he gave to the FBI. He conducted surveillance in May, according to FBI affidavits.

The plot would have been an unsual attempt to use technology that the U.S. has used against suspected terrorists around the world.

At his arrest, Ferdaus had already purchsed one remote-controlled aircraft, a small-scale model of the F-86 Sabre, a Cold War-era U.S. fighter jet, the FBI affidavit said, according to the Post.

He was also planning to expand his attack to include an immediate follow-on assault at both sites with two three-man teams wielding automatic weapons, the FBI said.