QinetiQ announced this year they are working to develop Llanbedr Airfield (near Snowden) as a new drone operating centre linked with Parc Aberporth (and it’s always important to remember QinetiQ’s shady origins). In December the US renewed an agreement with Qatar to host the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid airbase from which the air war in Afghanistan is run. Lots was written about drones operating in the US this year, but we particularly liked this piece about what the real questions Americans should be asking about drones. As always Quakers continue to be at the forefront of opposition to drone warfare. Read more
Year: 2013
The A-Z of Drones 2013 – Part Two
In February Human Rights Watch released a report detailing how IDF drones violated the Laws of War during operation Pillar of Defence, while War on Want released a report on UK links with the Israeli drone industry. Drone Wars UK will be releasing its own report on Israel and the drone wars in January 2014. Imran Khan continued to lead opposition to US drone strikes in Pakistan, initiating a blockade of NATO supplies in December. Regulators continue to press ahead with plans for the integration of drones into civil airspace. Read more
The A-Z of Drones 2013 – Part One
It was good to see large numbers turn out at a big protest at Parc Aberporth, the drone test centre in West Wales, in September as the owners announced a big expansion. It was even better to see Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye released from prison even though he is still under virtual house arrest. Phase two of the UK government-industry programme, ASTRAEA, which aims to open up UK airspace to civil drones, came to an end this year. While the drone lobby is keeping up the pressure the public remain extremely sceptical. News that British drones may be heading to Africa came as a big surprise, and will no doubt be a focus of campaigning in the coming year. Read more
MoD undertakes PR offensive on drones
The MoD has launched a carefully controlled PR exercise to defend its use of armed drones. A selected number of journalist were invited to RAF Waddington to view the new Reaper control centre that has been operating UK drones in Afghanistan since last April. As well as being able to view RAF pilots controlling Reapers, the MoD also put on display the UK’s other five unarmed drones.
As usual whether to call these aircraft ‘drones’ or ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ or ‘remotely piloted aircraft’ seems to have taken up an extraordinary amount of time. Read more
Afghans launch legal action over British drone strike as experts suggest British drones heading to Africa
Legal action has been launched against the UK following the deaths of two men in an alleged British drone strike in Afghanistan. The family of Haji Abdullah (56), and his son Habibullah (18), say the two men were killed by a drone strike as they drove a tractor on their farm in Nawzad province, Helmand. According to The Times, their relatives watched as a high altitude drone launched a missile which struck the tractor, killing Habibullah almost instantly and leaving his father fatally wounded. The family also said that they had registered the case with local officials without any response. Read more
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Over the past year, public and media interest in the use of drones has risen as dramatically as the use of the technology itself. Drone Wars UK has been one of the key voices publicly expressing serious concerns about the expansion of this new way to wage war. Our expertise and knowledge of the issues has allowed us to challenge the military’s and the industry’s public position that unmanned systems are in effect no different from piloted aircraft. It has also allowed us to speak publicly about the need for the UK to invest in long-term sustainable human security rather than in short-term military solutions which do not provide real and genuine security for all. Read more