美國執法部門望獲得對非軍用無人機採取行動的職權

The proliferation of nonmilitary drones in the United States poses a growing national security threat, top U.S. security and aviation officials warned on Wednesday as they pressed Congress to pass legislation that would allow agents to target and potentially take down suspicious drones.

While the recreational and commercial use of drones has skyrocketed in recent years -- there are now more than 1 million unmanned aircraft in the U.S. -- criminals and terrorist increasingly use the technology for nefarious purposes, according to officials from the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration who testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

In recent years, Islamic State and other terrorist groups have used cheap commercial drones to conduct reconnaissance and launch attacks. Officials said criminal gangs have used unmanned aircraft to traffic drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border and fly contraband into prisons.

But law enforcement agencies lack the legal authority to target drones even if they're involved in criminal activity. That is because drones are currently designated as aircraft for the purposes of federal law. Current U.S. laws make it a crime to damage or destroy an aircraft or otherwise interfere with its operations.

The U.S. departments of Defense and Energy already have the authority to target suspicious drones that fly over military and nuclear facilities. The proposed legislation would extend that authority to the departments of Justice and Homeland Security.美國的安全以及航空高級官員星期三警告說，非軍用無人機在美國的高速增長正逐漸對國家安全構成威脅。他們要求國會通過立法，允許執法人員對無人機進行瞄準鎖定並可以擊落可疑的無人機。

美國的休閒和商用無人機近年來增長迅猛，目前美國有100多萬架無人機。但是美國聯邦調查局、國土安全部和聯邦航空管理局的官員在參議院國土安全和政府事務委員會的聽證會上說，犯罪分子和恐怖分子也越來越多地使用無人機技術來進行不可告人的活動。

近年來，伊斯蘭國組織和其它恐怖組織使用廉價的商用無人機進行偵查和發動攻擊。美國官員說，犯罪團伙在美國和墨西哥的邊境地區使用無人機運送毒品，以及向監獄運送違禁品。

但是，無人機即使被用於犯罪活動，執法官員也沒有法律授權將其擊落，因爲無人機目前被定義爲飛機，而根據美國聯邦法律，損壞或摧毀飛機或影響飛機操作都是犯罪行爲。

美國國防部和能源部已經得到法律授權，可以在可疑無人機飛越軍事設施或核設施的時候將其擊落。擬議中的法律修訂包括將法律授權擴大到司法部和國土安全部。