US General David Perkins told an audience at a military conference that an “ally” of the US used a Patriot missile to shoot down a small off the shelf $200 drone. Sounds crazy but the “ally” was probably thinking better safe than sorry.
Watch General Perkins Tell the Story (14:55 minute mark)
“That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot,” he said.
“Now, that worked, they got it, OK, and we love Patriot missiles,” the general said
General Perkins suggested deploying large surface-to-air missiles as a defense was probably not economically wise.
“I’m not sure that’s a good economic exchange ratio,” he told an audience at the Association of the United States Army’s Global Force symposium in Alabama.
“In fact, if I’m the enemy, I’m thinking, ‘Hey, I’m just gonna get on eBay and buy as many of these $300 quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there’.” – BBC
Watch Patriot Missiles Being Launched
This incident clearly demonstrates the problems arising from evolving drone technology and the increasing number of these aircraft that are filling the skies. More and more you are seeing weaponize drones so for security personnel every encounter has to be taken seriously.
Featured image of Patriot missiles being launched to intercept an Iraqi Scud missile over the city of Tel Aviv by http://www.flickr.com, via Wikimedia Commons
