With commercially available hobby drones having more capabilities in terms  of imaging, range, and controls, it is inevitable that they will be used by armed organizations that do not have access to military grade drones. Rebels and terrorists alike, have been resorting to using drones to do reconnaissance work for them, which can then give them valuable intelligence whilst operating these at a distance.

But now, these hobby drones have taken a deadly form, as affordable smart bombs from the air.

In a report in the New York Times, Kurdish guerillas were able to shoot down a small drone that was operated by the Islamic State in Northern Iraq. They brought it to their outpost for examination and when they taking it apart, it blew up, killing two of their comrades. This is probably the first recorded incident of a hobby drone that has successfully exploded and killed enemy troops.

Furthermore into the New York Times report, the Islamic State has attempted in using such drones for attacks on Coalition forces, prompting U.S. Military commanders in Iraq to issue orders to treat small flying drones as potential bomb threats.

The use of these drones by the Islamic State has made the war take another dimension. In what was an exclusive domain in militaries due to their resources is no more as terrorists have access to widely available drones and some are cheap enough to be bought in big quantities. All they have to do is reconfigure them to be able to carry enough explosives that can be used in taking out important targets rather than being used as indiscriminately as kamikaze drones. They just need to identify a crucial target and direct the bomb-laden drone there. With GPS and FPV, they can do precision bombing just like those missiles fired by military jets that have cameras.

The U.S. Military has been slow in anticipating the use of drones by militants to delivery bombs and is now working on counters with Eric Fanning, Secretary of the Army, assigning a special office to study how to stop these. Stopping these drones may sound easy if they are in open spaces when shot down with small arms fire, but in concentrated areas such towns and cities with civilians below, shooting down a drone that may explode upon crashing into a market or a house full of innocent civilians, the response should always take into consideration avoiding civilian injuries, deaths, and even destruction of property.

This may also alarm countries that are targets of terrorists on the potential of hobby drones being used in their own cities to sow terror. A lone wolf terrorist can buy a drone from a hobby shop and with some instructional videos that other terrorists post online, can turn it into a suicide drone. It may not be as dramatic as a suicide car or truck, but it will still achieve the same effect.

Governments and security agencies will then develop new policies on ownership of hobby drones so they are used by civilians for harmless purposes. This may mean registration and background checks of drones and their owners. One effect by these acts of terrorists using drones will get people paranoid and may just take things into their own hands when they see a drone even if it is being used for commercial filming and just a hobbyist enjoying his/her flying toy.