Originally Posted by Section 107

There is no shortage of media stories about aviation security officials expressing concern about the increasing numbers of drones tracked / sighted / reported in and around airports. The aviation security people I work with believe the biggest risk is drone-strike due primarily to idiots (for example, reports are regularly received of people flying drones and kites! at Gravelly Point at the end of the runway at DCA). And even in the Washington area where ALL drone activity is proscribed within 15 miles of DCA and in almost all national parks (the Mall, etc.) recent DoD studies and testimony to Congress makes it clear that drone activity is occurring multiple times a day (at all hours) and seems to be increasing. Even CIA has reported an average of one a month flying over or near Langley.

Domestic "bad guys" regularly use drones to drop-ship weapons and contraband into correctional facilities. And the "bad guys" have successfully and dramatically used small armed drones to attack military targets around the world. So while the probability of an armed drone strike on civilian aviation is probably quite low, it is far from small. It doesn't take much imagination to envision bad guys flying a swarm of drones on a runway approach. Just five months ago a bad-guy left an IED at an airport terminal (AVL). It does not take much imagination to envision a drone being used to deliver a similar device (or a better designed device that could actually work) over a civilian aircraft parked at a gate and detonate it. Even if it didnt detonate, it would seriously disrupt service; do that at a major hub and one could have a major impact on travel for days....