Israel has accused Iran of launching a drone from Hezbollah-controlled territory. As I predicted months ago, it was only a matter of time until the Iranians would progress on the RQ-170 Sentinel that was accidentally gifted to them last year; and that progress will continue. Whether the Iranians were truly trying to assassinate Netanyahu or just sending a message to the world remains to be seen. However, we can be sure that the Israelis are not actually concerned about Iranian nuclear development; the nuclear bomb is just a red herring. The real danger lies in Iran developing a stealth drone as tiny and capable as the Sentinel.
Let's face the facts, the prospect of Iran launching a nuclear missile at Israel and hitting a city is extremely unlikely. Even if Iran gets the bomb, it doesn't mean that suddenly they can blow up Israel; large rockets are vulnerable, almost-obsolete technology. The prospect of a nuclear bomb being shipped by conventional transportation methods is also unlikely, since Iran's current nuclear capabilities make it more than able to deploy a catastrophe-inducing "dirty" bomb. In this age of stealth, nuclear weapons leave too much of a trace and are too cumbersome to deploy.
Iran's real power comes from its future drones, and their capability to take out airplanes and possibly deploy chemical weapons. Once Iran begins mass producing its own version of the RQ-170 Sentinel, the price of a small drone -- hard to detect by radar -- will drop to almost nothing. Almost nothing to certain groups and individuals, that is.
The cartels in Central America are paying close attention to developments in the drone arena because they hold the potential for risk-free international transportation. I met a guy in a coffee shop here in Amsterdam who did time in Colombia with a guy who was caught building a narco-sub. Narco-subs are small, hard-to-detect, and cost a meager 3 million dollars. A two man crew operating a narco-sub can rake 150 million. Narco-subs are the safest bet for anyone who has the money, and according to my source there was often a North Korean guy working with his friend in prison.
The North Koreans have developed a good relationship with some friends in Colombia, and have been building up their reserve of Benjamins by selling their submarine technology. But, as with many things North Korea, obsolescence is around the corner. Narco-subs work great for the cartels, but they still require a two-man crew and individuals with mouths means liability; drones are the future, and a self-destruct bomb can make them untraceable.
At current development rates, a drone of comparable capabilities to the RQ-171 will be in the same price range of a narco-sub within a few years. Our leaders are pressing for 100% surveillance of the border, and with good reason. There is no stopping technological progress, so it is only a matter of time until anyone with a few million dollars and an imaginative mind decides to use drones to ferry not only kilos of cocaine, but perhaps vials of chemical weapons. The drones won't carry people -- you'll still need good ole' subs for that. And exactly because of the people that are being shipped into the United States by tiny subs does the US government want to register every undocumented immigrant. America has been infiltrated by its enemies; there are sleeper cells everywhere. The crackdown that we saw in Boston may just be the first of many across the United States should the US go to war with Iran. The drone curtain is already being raised and though it will keep out bad guys, the Constitution will be blanketed in the process.