Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T10:35:16.184Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis of Drone Attacks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2022

Dennis G. Barten Open the ORCID record for Dennis G. Barten [Opens in a new window] ,
Derrick Tin ,
Harald De Cauwer Open the ORCID record for Harald De Cauwer [Opens in a new window] ,
Robert G. Ciottone  and
Gregory R. Ciottone
Dennis G. Barten*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, VieCuri Medical Center, Venlo, the Netherlands
Derrick Tin
Affiliation:
BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
Harald De Cauwer
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Dimpna Regional Hospital, Geel, Belgium and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
Robert G. Ciottone
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
Gregory R. Ciottone
Affiliation:
BIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship, Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
*
Correspondence: D.G. Barten, MD Department of Emergency Medicine VieCuri Medical Center P.O. Box 1926, 5900 BX Venlo The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

The rapid popularization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs; also referred to as drones), in both the recreational and industrial sectors, has paved the way for rapid developments in drone capabilities. Although the threat of UAVs used by terrorists has been recognized by specialists in both Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM), there are limited data on the extent and characteristics of drone use by terrorist organizations.

Methods:

Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all terrorist attacks using UAVs from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. Years 2020 and 2021 were not yet available at the time of the study. Primary weapon type, number and type of UAVs used, related attacks, location (country, world region), and number of deaths and injuries were collated. Results were exported into an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corp.; Redmond, Washington USA) for analysis.

Results:

There were 76 terrorist attacks using UAVs. The first attack occurred in 2016, and the number of attacks per year varied considerably (range: 4-36). Forty-seven of the 76 attacks (70%) were successful. Twenty-seven individually listed events (36%) were related and part of nine coordinated, multi-part incidents. A total of 50 deaths and 132 injuries were recorded, which equated to 1.09 deaths (range: 0-6) and 2.89 injuries (range: 0-20) per successful attack. The mean number of UAVs used in an attack was 1.28 (range: 1-5) and multiple UAVs were used in 22% of attacks.

Conclusion:

The use of UAVs to carry out terrorist attacks is on the rise. Seventy-six terrorist attacks using this novel method were recorded since 2016, killing 50 and injuring 132 people. While the use of UAV-related explosives appears less lethal than traditional explosive attacks, advancing technologies and swarming capabilities, increasing ability to carry larger payloads, and the possibility of UAVs to disperse chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons will likely increase UAV lethality in the future, requiring CTM specialists be more proactive.

Keywords

CBRNcounter-terrorism medicinedroneterrorismunmanned aerial vehicles
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 192 - 196
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

DG Barten and D Tin are Co-First Authors for this manuscript.

References

Pledger, TG. The Role of Drones in Future Terrorist Attacks. Association of the United States Army. 2021. https://www.ausa.org/publications/role-drones-future-terrorist-attacks. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Tin, D, Kallenborn, Z, Hart, A, Hertelendy, AJ, Ciottone, G. Rise of the unmanned aerial vehicles: an imminent public health threat mandating counter terrorism medicine preparedness for potential mass casualty attacks. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(5):636–638.10.1017/S1049023X21000765CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O’Donnell W. Advancements in UAV Technology. TechPats. 2021. https://www.techpats.com/advancements-in-uav-technology/. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Hambling, D. Drone Swarms Are Getting Too Fast for Humans to Fight, US General Warns. Forbes. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/01/27/drone-swarms-are-getting-too-fast-for-humans-too-fight-us-general-warns/?sh=2cf13578372c. Accessed September 6, 2021.Google Scholar
Rosser, JC, Vignesh, V, Terwilliger, BA, Parker, BC. Surgical and medical applications of drones: a comprehensive review. JSLS. 2018;22(3):e2018.00018.10.4293/JSLS.2018.00018CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tin, D, Hart, A, Hertelendy, AJ, Kallenborn, Z, Ciottone, GR. Opioid attack and the implications for counter-terrorism medicine. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(6):661–663.10.1017/S1049023X21001059CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, SM. Swarm Weapons: Demonstrating a Swarm Intelligent Algorithm for Parallel Attack. 2018. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD1071535. Accessed August 15, 2021.Google Scholar
Kallenborn, Z. Build a National Counter-Drone Network - Defense One. Defense One. 2020. https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/07/build-national-counter-drone-network/166675/. Accessed March 23, 2021.Google Scholar
Laksham, K. Unmanned aerial vehicle (drones) in public health: a SWOT analysis. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2019;8(2):342.10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_413_18CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warrick, J. Use of weaponized drones by ISIS spurs terrorism fears. The Washington Post. 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/use-of-weaponized-drones-by-isis-spurs-terrorism-fears/2017/02/21/9d83d51e-f382-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Watson, K. Venezuela President Maduro survives “drone assassination attempt.” BBC News Online. 2018. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45073385%0Ahttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45073385. Accessed September 6, 2021.Google Scholar
Majumdar Roy Choudhury, L, Aoun, A, Badawy, D, de Alburquerque, LA, Majane, Y, Wilkinson, A. Final report of the Panel of Experts on Libya established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1973 (2011). United Nations Security Council. 2021. https://undocs.org/S/2021/229. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Sankaran, V. Military drones may have attacked humans for first time without being instructed to, UN report says. The Independent. 2021. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/drone-fully-automated-military-kill-b1856815.html. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Ben Hubbard PK SR. Two Major Saudi Oil Installations Hit by Drone Strike, and US Blames Iran. The New York Times. 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-refineries-drone-attack.html. Accessed September 6, 2021.Google Scholar
Global Terrorism Database (GTD). START.umd.edu. https://www.start.umd.edu/data-tools/global-terrorism-database-gtd. Accessed July 18, 2021.Google Scholar
Codebook: Inclusion Criteria and Variables. College Park, Maryland USA: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism; 2019.Google Scholar
Tin, D, Margus, C, Ciottone, GR. Half a century of terrorist attacks: weapons selection, casualty outcomes, and implications for counter terrorism medicine. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(5):526–530.10.1017/S1049023X21000868CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hambling, D. Indian Army shows off drone swarm of mass destruction. Forbes. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/01/19/indian-army-shows-off-drone-swarm-of-mass-destruction/?sh=75e6449b2384. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Kallenborn, Z. A New Age of Terror: New Mass Casualty Terrorism Threats. US Army Mad Scientist Laboratory. 2019. https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/179-a-new-age-of-terror-new-mass-casualty-terrorism-threats/. Accessed March 23, 2021.Google Scholar
Chamola, V, Kotesh, P, Agarwal, A, Naren, Gupta, N, Guizani, M. A comprehensive review of unmanned aerial vehicle attacks and neutralization techniques. AD Hoc Netw. 2021;111:102324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, S. How China’s flying submarine drone could change the way sea battles are fought. South China Morning Post. 2021. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3141856/how-chinas-flying-submarine-drone-could-change-way-sea-battles. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Kallenborn, Z, Bleek, PC. Swarming destruction: drone swarms and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Nonproliferation Rev. 2018;25(5–6):523–543.10.1080/10736700.2018.1546902CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tin, D, Hart, A, Ciottone, GR. Hardening hospital defenses as a counter-terrorism medicine measure. Am J Emerg Med. 2021;45:667–668.10.1016/j.ajem.2020.10.051CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sayler, K. Department of Defense Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Congr Res Serv. 2020. https://crsreports.congress.gov. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
9 Counter-Drone Technologies to Detect and Stop Drones Today. Robin Radar Systems. 2020. https://www.robinradar.com/press/blog/9-counter-drone-technologies-to-detect-and-stop-drones-today. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Heszlein-Lossius, H, Al-Borno, Y, Shaqqoura, S, Skaik, N, Melvaer Giil, L, Gilbert, MF. Traumatic amputations caused by drone attacks in the local population in Gaza: a retrospective cross-sectional study. Lancet Planet Heal. 2019;3(1):e40–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haq, Al. Briefing Note II: The Illegality of Israel’s use of DIME weapons. 2014. https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/6622.html. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
Baud, F. Dime bomb toxicity. Médecins Sans Frontières France. 2016. https://issuu.com/msffr/docs/dime_bomb_toxcity_04122015_short.pp. Accessed April 24, 2021.Google Scholar
Hambling, D. Doctors Spooked by Israel’s Mystery Weapon. WIRED. 2009. https://www.wired.com/2009/01/mystery-weapon/. Accessed August 13, 2021.Google Scholar
McCann, WS. Who said we were terrorists? Issues with terrorism data and inclusion criteria. Stud Confl Terror. 2020.10.1080/1057610X.2020.1816676CrossRefGoogle Scholar