But what would happen if such a technology were to land in the hands of terrorists and criminals, who aren't beholden to the norms of modern warfare at all? In a new report, pan-European police agency Europol's Innovation Lab has imagined a not-so-distant future in which criminals could hijack autonomous vehicles, drones, and humanoid robots to sow chaos - and how law enforcement will have to step up as a result.
A drone attack on Kyiv and appearance of a cluster of drones over Polish territory in September 2025 has highlighted the threat posed by the rapid advancement of autonomous and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Drones provide a unique advantage for the world's militaries. For one, they are cheap to make, have been deployed in major conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and efforts to defend against them are in a constant state of development.
As uncrewed aircraft, drones rely on electronic systems to function and, often, radio frequency (RF) connections guide them. Favored techniques to neutralize drones include "spoofing" and jamming. Spoofing involves beaming fake radio signals to the drone to misdirect it. RF jamming works to cut off communications with the base of operation. But militaries are finding new ways to counter these methods.
