this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
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Drones have an incredibly limited range, so any drone attack would have to originate either inside the United States, off our coasts, or within the borders of Canada and Mexico.
Yes, indeed. Can you buy or build a drone in the US? No problem. Can you get explosives or other nasty stuff to arm it? No issue for a determined group. Can you find an undefended soft target? Of course, there is a smorgasboard of those.
One person making a drone is far different from China staging an attack.
It isn't hard to make a drone. I have confidence that I could do it, and I've never tried. They are available off the shelf, and nobody will bat an eye if that becomes my hobby - just keep a few around and ready to fly with cameras and post photos of my various outings and I look just like any of dozens of other people I know who have drones.
I would need a place to test my first attempts, but it isn't hard to find a farmer's field in winter where nobody will see what I'm doing. Which is to say I couldn't stage such an attack today, but I could next year.
Nobody bats an eye when you buy ONE drone. Buy 100 and people will ask questions.
It only needs one right drone with the right payload at the right place and time...
And? What's stopping those scenarios from happening?
Highly unlikely.
How so?
Border patrol / coast guard. There's really no way to get a large amount of drones close enough to stage the attack without getting caught.
They couldn't even enforce Trump's tariffs.
Lol. You dont believe a motivated actor couldnt get ahold of a hundred or so off the shelf drones from within the us? What are your walmarts and costcos even for?
"Without getting caught".
Sure, yeah, lots of coast guards at costco i guess
No, but someone going to buy 100 drones is going to raise eyebrows.
If the goal is to not draw attention, you're not going to show up and ask for a pallet of drones. Don't be silly.
But I think you haven't realized that entire shipping containers full of drones enter the country on a daily basis. The vast majority of drones are imported.
Yeah that's why it would be like a Trojan horse, if it allegedly came in from a shipment from another country.