Schar School Expert: A Statement About the Eastern Seaboard Drone Flap

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Zak Kallenborn is an official Army Mad Scientist-one of a network of experts exploring advanced warfare capabilities-and an authority on drone swarms and killer robots.

Zak Kallenborn: 'National hysteria like this event no doubt will raise adversary interest in and attention to drones.'

The Schar School of Policy and Governmentpolicy fellow at George Mason University believes the recent rash of sightings of drones over New Jersey and other eastern states is, in the end, could be, in the end, a good thing if it galvanizes public policy attention enough to address existing drone vulnerabilities.

"Although the public response has often been hysterical, I'm hopeful the hysteria can be useful," he said. "Experts have been sounding the alarm for years about the vulnerabilities of our airspace to drones operated by terrorists, organized crime, and hostile countries. And federal policies and regulations limit the ability of states to respond. If any of the New York and New Jersey drones turn out to be hostile, there is little local police can do."

The threat is only going to get worse, he warns, "as technology evolves with drones being used autonomously, equipped with artificial intelligence, operating on more land and sea, and operating in collaborative swarms."

He also warns that others are watching Americans watch the skies.

"National hysteria like this event no doubt will raise adversary interest in and attention to drones," he said. "This hysteria shows that if you want to freak out the United States, you don't need a bomb-just a simple drone and a paranoid bystander with a camera."