The growing threat from drone-based terrorist attacks requires a new set of laws from Congress that would allow officials to track and destroy hostile unmanned aircraft in US airspace without first obtaining a court order, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) The growing threat from drone-based terrorist attacks requires a new set of laws from Congress that would allow officials to track and destroy hostile unmanned aircraft in US airspace without first obtaining a court order, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Wednesday.
Nielsen described a scenario under which US officials detected an unmanned drone approaching an outdoor stadium or outdoor rock concert armed with a bomb or a load of chemicals ready for discharge with DHS being forced to apply for and obtain a court order to continue tracking the aircraft.
"Under current outdated laws we would need a warrant," Nielsen said during a speech at the George Washington University's Center for Cyber and Homeland Security on Wednesday. "The drones fly at 140 miles per hour. I would have to figure out how to get a warrant after I identified it [the drone], just to be able to track it and that still doesn't give me the authority" to take down the aircraft.
The Department of Defense has limited authority to destroy drones to protect its facilities and the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the president, also has similar authority, but not DHS, Nielson explained.
The threat of a terrorist attack on US soil using drones is no longer science fiction, Nielson noted. "This threat is real and it's here today."
Nielsen expressed hope that Congress would take up bipartisan legislation later this year to expand DHS' authority to track and destroy drones.
