Low-Cost Drone Add-Ons From China Let Anyone With a Credit Card Turn Toys Into Weapons of War
1 min read
Summary
Accessories that can be used to weaponise commercial drones are widely available on shopping websites, at affordable prices, and their functionalities are becoming increasingly sophisticated, according to researchers at Red Balloon, an embedded-device security firm.
The developments highlight the ease with which a delinquent actor, from a criminal syndicate to a lone teenager, could cheaply and easily procure equipment to stage a remote destructive or violent assault.
Among the accessories discovered by Red Balloon were AI guidance modules – akin to small cameras mounted on drones for object recognition at distance – and fibre optic tethers, which can grant a drone access to large areas with no risk of disruption from jammers.
Such equipment is reportedly being used by both Russia and Ukraine in the ongoing conflict, with personnel on both sides using them to drop explosives or crash drones into targets autonomously.
