Drone warfare

Extracted Attributes

• Roles

  Anti-air, anti-armor, anti-personnel.

• Definition

  A form of warfare using military drones or military robots, which can be remote-controlled or have varying levels of autonomy.

• Early Origins

  Drones have been part of warfare since the 19th century (e.g., Austrian hot-air balloons to bomb Venice); modern UAV technology rapidly developed over the past four decades.

• Countermeasures

  Signal jamming, kinetic solutions (anti-drone missiles/firearms), drone-on-drone combat, laser systems.

• Types of Robots

  Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV), weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned surface vehicles (USV), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).

• Primary Missions

  Reconnaissance, kamikaze attacks, bomb disposal, cargo transport, medical evacuation, electronic warfare, explosive ordnance disposal, target training, augmenting logistics, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), direct attacks.

• Impact on Warfare

  Paradigm shift, cheap drones can neutralize expensive military assets, enables rapid decision-making and precision, shifts balance of power, makes conflicts more complex.

• Autonomous Capabilities

  Drones can possess varying degrees of autonomy, utilizing military AI for tasks like target detection, visual navigation, swarming, and reacting autonomously to changing circumstances.

• Known UCAV Manufacturers (as of 2019)

  United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Italy, France, Greece, India, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland.

Timeline

• Early forms of pilotless warfare, such as Austrians using hot-air balloons to bomb Venice, arguably mark the beginning of drone warfare. (Source: Web Search)

  19th century

• The U.S. military extensively used drone strikes, particularly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, as part of the War on Terror. (Source: Summary/Wikipedia)

  Early 21st century

• Witnessed a rapid proliferation and evolution of drone warfare, with increased ubiquity among various countries and non-state actors. (Source: Summary/Wikipedia)

  2010s and 2020s

• A Turkish-made UAV in Libya reportedly conducted an attack using artificial intelligence without direct human command, marking a significant development in autonomous drone capabilities and considered the first attack carried out by UAVs on their own initiative. (Source: Summary/DBpedia)

  2020

• The Russian invasion of Ukraine began, becoming the first 'drone war' due to the high intensity, scale, and crucial role of drone attacks by both sides, highlighting their importance in modern conventional warfare. (Source: Summary/Wikipedia/Related Document)

  2022-02-24

Drone warfare

Drone warfare is a form of warfare using military drones or military robots. The robots may be remote controlled by a pilot or have varying levels of autonomy during their mission. Types of robots include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned surface vehicles (USV) or unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). UAVs, UGVs, USVs and UUVs are variously used for reconnaissance, kamikaze missions, bomb disposal, transporting cargo and medical evacuation or may serve an anti-air, anti-armor or anti-personnel role. The United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Italy, France, Greece, India, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Poland are known to have manufactured operational UCAVs as of 2019. Drones can be used for electronic warfare, explosive ordnance disposal, target training and augmenting logistics but are most commonly utilized for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), facilitating direct attacks on target as part of a kill chain or manned-unmanned teaming. Aerial drone attacks can be conducted via purpose-built UCAVs deploying ordnance during a drone strike or by weaponized commercial UAVs aerial dropping munitions or crashing into a target. Heavy-lift drones may also be used to airlift supplies or transport wounded personnel across a battlefield. Smaller drones such as SUAVs and MAVs are man-portable and can be deployed for low-altitude, short-range support operations. Larger drones can serve a "mothership" role by deploying smaller, sub-drones or by being equipped with electronic warfare features such as a signal repeater. Multiple drones may operate and attack simultaneously in a drone swarm and autonomous drones, such as LAWs, utilize military AI. The early years of the 21st century saw most drone strikes being conducted by the US military using air-to-surface missiles against ground targets within countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen during the war on terror. Drone warfare evolved and proliferated quickly in the 2010s and 2020s, with countries such as Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine utilizing drones with increased ubiquity. Militant groups, such as the Islamic State and Houthis, and organized crime groups such as Mexican cartels likewise utilized drones for attacks against adversaries and for logistical purposes. Since 2022, drone warfare has been extensively used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine by both sides, including long range fixed-wing drones, and short range multirotor FPV drones. Scholars have described the conflict as the first "drone war", due to the large scale and high intensity of attacks, and agree on the major role drone warfare has in modern conventional warfare.

Web Search Results

• Drone warfare - Wikipedia

  Drone warfare is a form of warfare using military drones or military robots. The robots may be remote controlled by a pilot or have varying levels of autonomy during their mission. Types of robots include unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned surface vehicles (USV) or unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV). UAVs, UGVs, USVs and UUVs are variously used for reconnaissance, kamikaze missions, bomb [...] drones with increased ubiquity. Militant groups, such as the Islamic State and Houthis, and organized crime groups such as Mexican cartels likewise utilized drones for attacks against adversaries and for logistical purposes. Since 2022, drone warfare has been extensively used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine by both sides, including long range fixed-wing drones, and short range multirotor FPV drones. Scholars have described the conflict as the first "drone war", due to the large scale and [...] Drones can be used for electronic warfare, explosive ordnance disposal, target training and augmenting logistics but are most commonly utilized for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), facilitating direct attacks on target "Targeting (warfare)") as part of a kill chain "Kill chain (military)") or manned-unmanned teaming. Aerial drone attacks can be conducted via purpose-built UCAVs deploying ordnance during a drone strike or by weaponized commercial UAVs

• Drone Warfare: How Drones Are Changing the Battlefield - USAMM

  Drone warfare involves the use of UAVs to conduct military operations. These drones can perform a wide range of functions, from surveillance and intelligence-gathering to targeted strikes. Controlled remotely, either by an operator in a ground control station or via artificial intelligence, drones allow militaries to engage in combat with minimal human risk on their side. What is a drone used for in warfare? Let's have a look. #### Surveillance and Reconnaissance [...] Drone warfare is undeniably transforming the nature of conflict, offering new capabilities but also raising significant ethical and legal dilemmas. For better or worse, UAVs have shifted the balance of power on the battlefield, creating opportunities for rapid decision-making and precision while introducing unprecedented challenges in accountability and regulation. [...] The increasing prevalence of drones also calls for countermeasures. Anti-drone warfare employs various technologies, including: ##### Signal Jamming Disabling drones by interfering with their communication systems. ##### Kinetic Solutions Using anti-drone missiles or firearms to destroy UAVs mid-flight. ##### Drone-on-Drone Combat Deploying drones designed specifically to intercept and disable enemy UAVs. ##### Laser Systems

• How drones have shaped the nature of conflict - Vision of Humanity

  Non-state groups have incorporated drone usage as a tactic within asymmetric warfare. Asymmetric warfare generally involves weaker parties employing unconventional strategies to avoid conventional military engagements with a superior force that would likely lead to defeat. Drones are a reasonably effective tactic that minimises risk to group members and expands the range of feasible targets. This allows these weaker groups to overcome their limitations in military capability, making it more [...] Changes in military technology have shaped warfare in the 21st century. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have been increasingly used by both state and non-state actors, with the number of drone strikes and associated fatalities rising significantly in the past five years. The increasing adoption of drones has allowed non-state groups to engage more effectively with larger, more powerful states. This shift has made conflicts more complex and harder to resolve. [...] State actors have used drones for warfare and intelligence gathering, significantly reducing the need for infantry. Drones can undertake reconnaissance and surveillance missions without putting human lives at risk, while advanced military drones using precision-guided munitions can more accurately target specific enemy assets. These advancements increase the ability of militaries to respond rapidly to emerging threats. The increase in state drone usage also implies a shift towards remote and

• How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare?

  used in modern warfare has altered the dynamics of military operations, offering unique tactical advantages and enhanced the operational efficiency in various combat scenarios(#_edn1). Drones have been used for various purposes, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeted strikes (see Figure 1). Overall, uncrewed systems represent a transformative advance in military technology, reflecting significant investment and development worldwide. As nations continue developing and deploying [...] Many may not realise that the origin of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, dates back almost a century, while modern UAV technology has been rapidly developing in civilian and military contexts over the past four decades. Drones represent the intersection of two important trends in military technology – the precise nature of weapons and the rise of robotics which, when combined, are flown remotely at no risk to a pilot and capable of delivering a lethal payload. The UAVs [...] impact include terminal guidance, visual navigation, target detection and swarming. Using AI, drones may react autonomously to changing circumstances and communicate with each other to orchestrate a sortie. UAVs with artificial intelligence already exist and are actively used in the war in Ukraine. For example, the DJI Matrice 300 drone has built-in artificial intelligence, which helps to identify danger from a distance and focus clearly on the target.

• History of drone warfare

  Drones have been part of warfare since the 19th century, arguably, when the Austrians used pilotless hot-air balloons to bomb Venice. Development of pilotless flying machines such as those operated today began almost as soon as the Wright brothers demonstrated powered flight with the first remote control planes developed during the First World War. [...] These satellite controlled hunter-killer drones allow pilots to control their aircraft from half a world away and it allows generals, spies and politicians to watch the war they are waging on the other side of the world, live on TV from anywhere in the world. [...] America’s drones started life as spy planes and were augmented to become assassination weapons. And they have been used in at least seven countries to fulfill exactly those roles, throughout Washington’s 15 year, ongoing war on terror. They have been hoovering up information, feeding the military’s insatiable demand for battlefield intelligence, and finding and killing terrorists and insurgents.

Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, and Poland are known to have manufactured operational UCAVs as of 2019. As of 2022, the Ukrainian enterprise Ukroboronprom and NGO group Aerorozvidka have built strike-capable drones and used them in combat. Drone attacks can be conducted by commercial UCAVs dropping bombs, firing a missile, or crashing into a target. Since the turn of the century, most drone strikes have been carried out by the US military in such countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen using air-to-surface missiles, but drone warfare has increasingly been deployed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan and by militant groups such as the Houthis. Drones strikes are used for targeted killings by several countries. In 2020 a Turkish-made UAV loaded with explosives detected and attacked Haftar's forces in Libya with its artificial intelligence without command, according to a report from the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts on Libya, published in March 2021. It was considered the first attack carried out by the UAVs on their own initiative.