Drone warfare
[6] In the early years of the 21st century, most drone strikes were carried out by the US military in such countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya using air-to-surface missiles.
[7] Drone warfare has been increasingly deployed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and by militant groups such as the Houthis.
[8] Observers have described drone warfare as one of the most significant innovations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning in 2022,[9] and one that characterized the war.
[15] In August 2018, Al Jazeera reported that a Saudi Arabian-led coalition combating Houthi rebels in Yemen had secured secret deals with al-Qaeda in Yemen and recruited hundreds of that group's fighters: "... Key figures in the deal-making said the United States was aware of the arrangements and held off on drone attacks against the armed group, which was created by Osama bin Laden in 1988.
Data from the US and Pakistan's joint counter-terrorism efforts show that militants cease communication and attack planning to avoid detection and targeting.
[29] Some scholars argue that drone strikes reduce the amount of civilian casualties and territorial damage when compared to other types of military force like large bombs.
[30] During the battle for Mosul, the Islamic State was able to kill or wound dozens of Iraqi soldiers by dropping light explosives or 40-millimeter grenades from numerous drones attacking at the same time.
[31] In 2017, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated at a Senate hearing that "We do know that terrorist organizations have an interest in using drones ... We have seen that overseas already with some frequency.
[33] On 6 January 2018, Russian forces thwarted a drone (UAV) swarm attack on the Khmeimim Air Base, the first of this kind in the history of warfare.
[6] Commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be weaponised by being loaded with dangerous explosives and then crashed into vulnerable targets or detonated above them.
They can conduct aerial bombing by dropping hand grenades, mortar shell or other improvised explosive munitions directly above targets.
According to James Rogers, an academic who studies drone warfare, "There is a big debate out there at the moment about what the best way is to counter these small UAVs, whether they are used by hobbyists causing a bit of a nuisance or in a more sinister manner by a terrorist actor.
After the incident, Aselsan stated that it would begin the serial production and integration of the CATS system to replace the Canadian MX15B.
Russian forces meanwhile launched waves of Iranian HESA Shahed 136 drones during the October 2022 missile strikes on Ukraine.
A Ukrainian DJI Mavic quadcopter was recorded ramming a Russian drone of the same model, resulting in the latter crashing towards the surface below.
[53][54][55] Another instance of this aerial ramming tactic occurred on 24 November 2022, this time with the Russian DJI Mavic being recorded plummeting towards the ground after a collision with a Ukrainian drone.
[67] As of April 2024, Ukraine has started deploying manned aircraft, such as the Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat and Yakovlev Yak-52, which uses snipers or machine guns to shot down Russian drones.
[73] On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an invasion of southern Israel, using commercial drones to bomb Israeli guard towers before breaching the border wall.
This strike, codenamed "Operation True Promise", was carried out in response to Israel's bombing of the Iranian consular building in Damascus.
