Iran could use drones to make a deadly strike on California at any time, a top US Army pro says — and we’re nowhere near ready for what could happen.
Iranian forces have the technology, the ability and the motivation to launch withering drone attacks on targets in California, according to Brett Velicovich, a former US Army intelligence and special operations soldier who spent years using drones to hunt and kill the leaders of ISIS and other terrorist groups.
Velicovich said America’s enemy is almost certainly trying to launch an attack on Californian shores with the use of drones. The FBI’s warning to local law enforcement, he said, shows how serious the threat really is.
“We’re extremely vulnerable to drone attacks,” Velicovich said. “We’re not prepared for this.”
The drone expert said that Iran doubtless has in its possession thousands of attack drones that can be controlled from thousands of miles away and can fly hundreds of miles before striking their targets.
“These are long range, one way attack drones that are extremely capable and can be sent in swarms,” explained Velicovich, who in July was praised by President Trump as one of the nation’s foremost experts in drone warfare.
Velicovich said such drones could be launched by ships, as the FBI warned local law enforcement agencies that could be the case in California. Such launches could even be executed from unmanned drone ships, he said.
“You don’t even need a human anywhere near this,” he said. “You can launch these things over Starlink from a boat 1,000 miles away.”
Iran’s connections with Mexico and nations in South America mean that drone attacks could also be launched from south of the boarder, he warned.
Velicovich said Iran’s “strategy is to sow fear” with drone attacks, striking crowds of people or important infrastructure for maximum horror.
“It’s population centers, infrastructure, ports, locations that can disrupt the economy,” he said. “This is an issue that deserves national attention.”
Sporting events, hotels, office buildings, government offices and military bases are all possible targets, said Velicovich.
The former Army drone ace, who founded a drone manufacturing company called Powerus, said the drones used to attack California would carry explosives to their targets with pinpoint accuracy, needing only GPS coordinates to set their aim.
Defenses against such attacks would have to be multilevel, he said.
Anti-drone tactics include missiles to knock unmanned aircraft from the sky, jammers to disrupt their control and navigation, and lasers to blind them and fry their circuitry.
“There’s no one single solution” against drone attacks, said Velicovich. “You have, like, literally, guys with machine guns trying to shoot them down.”
Velicovich said the FBI is right warn law enforcement and the public about the possibility of such an attack in California.
“Somebody credible intelligence that this is a real threat,” Velicovich said. “So they have a duty to warn the American people, and they have a duty to warn local law enforcement to be on the lookout.”
The Los Angeles Police Department is monitoring the situation and released a statement, that reads, “We want to reassure every Angeleno that we continue to coordinate with all of our Federal, State, and local partners for intelligence and information sharing during the ongoing Middle East conflict. We share this information in real time, assess every credible lead, and adjust our posture as needed to ensure the safety of our City. At this time, there are no known or specific threats to Los Angeles. The LAPD remains prepared and committed to maintaining public safety from all potential threats.”
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