FBI 'spooked' by sophisticated theft of agricultural drones in New Jersey
The crop sprayers could be extremely dangerous in terrorist hands
The sophisticated theft of 15 crop-spraying drones last month in New Jersey has the FBI worried as experts warn of “ridiculously bad” consequences and “a potential nightmare scenario” if terrorists get their hands on the machines.
The unsolved theft has revived fears rampant in the post-9/11 years that terrorists might use crop dusters to disperse biological or chemical weapons with the aim of inflicting mass casualties inside the United States. The difference now is that the potential threat consists not of one pilot flying a small propellor-driven plane, but more than a dozen remotely piloted vehicles. Heightening the concern even further is the fact that the crime occurred against the backdrop of the United States’ war against Iran.
“The bureau is freaked out for a good reason,” Steve Lazarus, a retired FBI agent, told The High Side in an email. “These aren’t hobby drones with cameras. They’re industrial sprayers designed to carry and disperse significant amounts of liquid quickly and with precision. A typical agricultural drone can cover a large area in minutes, following GPS-guided paths — that’s exactly what they’re built for in farming, but it also means that, in the wrong hands, they’re a ready-made delivery system.”