Modern Conflicts are Transforming with Drone Tech

The statement last week that US authorities suspect Iran was behind the October Drone strike on the US base at al-Tanf in southeastern Syria did not get the attention it deserved. Nonetheless, it served as another warning that technology is changing geopolitics, whether we like it or not. Moreover, are already altering modern combat. Seth Frantzman points out in his latest Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future – the most thorough and significant book on Drone warfare yet written.

Drone appear to be swiftly gaining traction as the essential weapon technology for states seeking to dominate future fights. The United States, China, Russia, Israel, Iran, and Turkey, to name a few, have all contributed to the rapid progress of technology during the previous few decades. As part of the Global War on Terror, the United States and Israel pioneered the age of Drone by developing and disseminating the technology.

The United States learned from its disastrous Middle East ground battles that it was better to kill evil men using UAVs piloted from Nevada than to parachute Special Forces into Iraqi hillsides.However, as this technology expanded, the US began to lose control over it. were initially delivered to Ankara for counterinsurgency activities against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but equipment flow was halted as tensions between the two nations increased.

Turkey had to choose between employing  and developing its capability. It went with the latter option. The results of its efforts are visible. from Turkey proved crucial in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Hundreds of Syrian regime vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons were destroyed in a Turkish ‘Drone blitzkrieg’ attack that same year.