Drones

List of Drones articles

An Israeli soldier prepares an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle for deployment near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Aug. 21, 2020, as part of a monitoring operation in the area.
An Israeli soldier prepares an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle for deployment near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Aug. 21, 2020, as part of a monitoring operation in the area.

What the Rise of Drone Warfare Means for Palestinians

Whether armed or not, drones function as a form of psychological terror for those living underneath them.

Zeynab Serekaniye’s grave
Zeynab Serekaniye’s grave

Turkey Capitalizes on Afghanistan Distraction to Attack Kurdish Forces in Syria

Turkish airstrikes in Syria have escalated over the last month as the world concentrates on a different crisis.

A Pakistani soldier stands guard on a post near the Line of Control in Poonch district of Pakistani-administered Kashmir on April 26.
A Pakistani soldier stands guard on a post near the Line of Control in Poonch district of Pakistani-administered Kashmir on April 26.

Drone Strike Blasts Open a New Front in the Kashmir Dispute

A possible attack from Pakistan represents a new form of escalation.

Activists burn the U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. drone attacks in Multan, Pakistan on March 14, 2012.
Activists burn the U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. drone attacks in Multan, Pakistan on March 14, 2012.

Obama’s Brutal Drone Legacy Will Haunt the Biden Administration

In his memoirs, the former U.S. president seems uninterested in a critical appraisal of his drone policies. Considering the human suffering caused by America’s drone wars, Joe Biden should not make the same mistake.

A Yemeni boy walks past a mural depicting a U.S. drone on Dec. 13, 2013 in the capital Sanaa.
A Yemeni boy walks past a mural depicting a U.S. drone on Dec. 13, 2013 in the capital Sanaa.

Germany Could Have Delivered Justice for Civilian Drone Strike Victims. It Failed.

Missiles remotely fired with the assistance of a U.S. base on German soil killed my family in Yemen, but neither German nor U.S. courts are willing to hold anyone accountable.

A MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015.
A MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015.

Trump Inherited the Drone War but Ditched Accountability

Only a single formal check remains on U.S. killings worldwide.

A Reaper drone used for missions in Afghanistan is seen in Nevada in 2009.
A Reaper drone used for missions in Afghanistan is seen in Nevada in 2009.

Death by Drone: America’s Vicious Legacy in Afghanistan

As the United States prepares to leave, thousands of killings remain unprobed, and Washington refuses to talk about them.

A pilot grasps a flight control and weapons firing stick while preparing to launch a U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, from a ground control station at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region on Jan. 7, 2016.
A pilot grasps a flight control and weapons firing stick while preparing to launch a U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, from a ground control station at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region on Jan. 7, 2016.

The Killer Algorithms Nobody’s Talking About

Activists fret about armies relying on killer robots, but some forms of artificial intelligence that don’t actually pull the trigger could still be a nightmare

Members of Code Pink protest
Members of Code Pink protest

Trump Has Made Sanctions a Path to Strikes

Economic measures can de-escalate tensions, but not if used crudely.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the situation with Iran in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington on Jan. 8.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the situation with Iran in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington on Jan. 8.

Assassination, Extrajudicial Execution, or Targeted Killing—What’s the Difference?

Successive presidents have tried to shape new terminology for political killings. But they’re still mostly illegal.

A U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk drone lands at Misawa Air Base for a temporary intra-theater routine deployment in Japan on June 1, 2018.
A U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk drone lands at Misawa Air Base for a temporary intra-theater routine deployment in Japan on June 1, 2018.

With an Eye Toward China, Pentagon Weighs Slashing Global Hawk Drone

The surveillance aircraft on the chopping block is a variant of the type that Iran shot down this summer.

A U.S. Marine prepares to launch an InstantEye quadcopter system on Aug. 12, 2018.
A U.S. Marine prepares to launch an InstantEye quadcopter system on Aug. 12, 2018.

Pentagon Seeks to Counter China’s Drone Edge

As part of a broad effort to cut dependence on Chinese technology, the Defense Department is hoping to boost domestic production of small UASs.

Iranian demonstrators carry a portrait of Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Tehran on May 10.
Iranian demonstrators carry a portrait of Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump at a rally in Tehran on May 10.

Trump Is Playing Iran’s Game of Drones

Contrary to popular belief, drones aren’t further destabilizing global conflicts—they’re creating a way for leaders to de-escalate crises.

An MQ-9 Reaper drone is parked in a hanger at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)
An MQ-9 Reaper drone is parked in a hanger at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

Trump’s Push to Boost Lethal Drone Exports Reaps Few Rewards

Sources say the U.S. Defense Department is stubbornly resisting the new rules.

An MQ-9 Reaper drone is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base on November 17, 2015, in Indian Springs, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)
An MQ-9 Reaper drone is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base on November 17, 2015, in Indian Springs, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

A Silicon Valley Start-Up That Loves the Pentagon

Google may balk at military contracts, but Hivemapper founder Ariel Seidman believes working with the U.S. Defense Department can help save lives.

Venezuelan security forces check a nearby building after a drone attack on President Nicolás Maduro  in Caracas on Aug. 4. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)
Venezuelan security forces check a nearby building after a drone attack on President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Aug. 4. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images)

Consumer Drones Are Propaganda Tools, Not Killing Machines

The Maduro attack shows that the threat of drones in private hands is all smoke and noise.

A drone is flown for recreational purposes in the sky above Old Bethpage, New York, on Aug. 30, 2015.  (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
A drone is flown for recreational purposes in the sky above Old Bethpage, New York, on Aug. 30, 2015. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Drones Don’t Wear Uniforms. They Should.

Israel’s use of consumer drones against protesters heralds a dangerous, lawless age of conflict.

Jordan’s Chinese CH-4 drone on display at this year’s SOFEX arms show.
(Sharon Weinberger/Foreign Policy)
Jordan’s Chinese CH-4 drone on display at this year’s SOFEX arms show. (Sharon Weinberger/Foreign Policy)

China Has Already Won the Drone Wars

Chinese companies are proving that America is not first in the UAV export market. Can Trump roll that back?

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