Drone Wars UK – Index

Key Topics
AI/Autonomy Book Reviews Borders Crashes
Drones – The Basics Editorials Interviews Israel and Drones
Protector Proliferation Public Perception Risk-Free War
Secrecy Space Specific Conflicts Turkey and Drones
UK Drone Operations UK Drone Policy UK Drone Programmes UK Drone Targeted Killing
UK Airspace and Drones US Drone Operations


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AI / Autonomy
13/06/2024 Autonomous Collaborative Platforms: The UK’s New Autonomous Drones
28/02/2024 Proceed in Harmony: The Government replies to the Lords on AI in Weapon Systems
21/09/2023 Developments on both sides of the Atlantic signal push to develop AI attack drones
21/08/2023 Military AI: MoD’s timid approach to challenging ethical issues will not be enough to prevent harm
29/07/2023 MoD AI projects list shows UK is developing technology that allows autonomous drones to kill
21/06/2023 Small drones, big problem. Two new reports examine the rise and rise of armed ‘one-way attack’ drones 
10/05/2023 MoD’s AI ethics panel expert tells Lord’s Committee: ‘More should be done’
09/05/2023 The arms race towards autonomous weapons – industry acknowledge concerns
18/04/2023 The UK, accountability for civilian harm, and autonomous weapon systems
13/04/2023 Lords Committee on AI in Weapons Systems: AI harms, humans vs computers, and unethical Russians
20/01/2023 New trials of AI-controlled drones show push towards ‘killer robots’ as Lords announces special inquiry
05/12/2022 New Report: Fine words, Few assurances: Assessing new MoD policy on the military use of Artificial Intelligence
08/06/2022 Loitering munitions, the Ukraine war, and the drift towards ‘killer robots’.
28/03/2022 Military AI Audit: Congress scrutinises how the US is developing its warfighting AI capabilities
03/01/2022 Skyborg: AI control of military drones begins to take off
07/12/2021 New Report: None too clever? Military applications of artificial intelligence
20/10/2021 Military applications at centre of Britain’s plans to be AI superpower
22/06/2021 Technology and the future of UK Foreign Policy – Our submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry
09/06/2021 MoD report urges embrace of human augmentation to fully exploit drones and AI for warfighting
07/04/2021 The iWars Survey: Mapping the IT sector’s involvement in developing autonomous weapons
08/03/2021 Online Event – 25 March: Meaning-less human control: Lessons from air defence systems for LAWS
19/02/2021 New Report: Meaning-less human control: Lessons from air defence systems for lethal autonomous weapons
26/01/2021 Humans First: A Manifesto for the Age of Robotics. A review of Frank Pasquale’s ‘New Laws of Robotics’
30/11/2020 UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots writes to Defence Secretary on the UK’s approach to LAWS
01/05/2020 XLUUVs, Swarms, and STARTLE: New developments in the UK’s military autonomous systems
27/09/2019 US Reaper drones test Agile Condor: Another step closer to ‘Killer Robots’
10/11/2018 New Report: Off the Leash: How the UK is developing the technology to build armed autonomous drones


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Book Reviews
05/12/2024 The Attack Killed Them: Drone Warfare and the Exonerative Voice
28/06/2022 Book Reviews: Navigating a way through the ethical maze of new technologies
10/01/2022 Book Review: ‘War in Space: Strategy, Spacepower, Geopolitics’ by Bleddyn E. Bowen
18/11/2021 Book Review: ‘Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving us Behind and What to Do About It’ by Azeem Azhar
26/01/2021 Book Review: ‘The New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI’ by Frank Pasquale
19/06/2020 Book Review: ‘The Drone Age: How Drone Technology Will Change War and Peace’ by Michael J Boyle
27/05/2020 Book Review: ‘The Eye of War: Military Perception from the Telescope to the Drone’ by Antoine Bousquet
18/02/2020 Book Review ‘Eyes In The Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare’ by Arthur Holland Michel
03/10/2018 Book Review: ‘Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies’ by Elke Schwarz
27/09/2018 Book Review: Interview – ‘Reaper Force: The Inside Story of Britain’s Drone Wars‘ by Dr Peter Lee
24/07/2018 Book Review: ‘Army of None: Autonomous weapons and the future of war’ by Paul Scharre
22/11/2017 Book Review: ‘The Humanitarian Impact of Drones’ Ed by Acheson, Bolton, Minor, & Pytlak
10/10/2017 Book Review: ‘Swarm Troopers’ by David Hambling
20/09/2016 Book Review: ‘Military Robots: Mapping the Moral Landscape’ by Jai Galliott
29/11/2015 Book Reviews: Drones: the delusion of seeing what we want to see
23/04/2015 Book Review: ‘Sudden Justice: America’s Secret Drone Wars’ by Chris Woods.
22/04/2015 Book Review: ‘Drone Theory’ by Grégoire Chamayou (Translation: Janet Lloyd)
21/04/2015 Book Review: ‘Precision Guided Munitions and Human Suffering in War’ by James E. Hickey
26/11/2014 Book Review: ‘Precision strike warfare & International Intervention’ Ed. by Aaronson, Aslam, Dyson, Rauxloh. 
30/05/2014 Book Review: ‘Unmanned: Drone Warfare and Global Security’ by Ann Rogers and John Hill
08/07/2013 Book Review: ‘Killing by Remote Control: The Ethics of an Unmanned Military’ Ed. by Bradley Jay Strawser
07/05/2012 Book Review: ‘Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control’ by Medea Benjamin


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Borders
09/08/2022 EU borders agency must improve information access arrangements following complaint by Drone Wars UK
07/02/2022 Drone Wars Select Committee submission on use of the military drones in countering migrant crossings
26/12/2020 Crossing a Line: How the use of drones to secure borders threatens everyone’s rights


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Crashes
18/07/2024 MoD admits British Reaper drone written off after 2021 crash at undisclosed location
24/06/2024 MALE performance anxiety: Technical problems and SAMs bring large drones down to earth
18/12/2023 Accident waiting to happen: UK opens skies to large military drones as crashes continue
18/07/2022 Military drone crash update: Ukraine war toll and ‘hidden crashes’
01/07/2020 Libyan war sees record number of drones brought down to earth
01/04/2020 Military drones continue to tumble to earth
24/10/2019 MoD discloses two crashes of British Reaper drones in FoI response
09/06/2019 Military drone crash data undermines MoD case to fly Protector drones in UK
09/06/2019 Accidents Will Happen: A dataset of military drone crashes
29/03/2016 Large military drones continue to crash as they spread
08/10/2015 Military drone crashes show spread of drone wars
27/02/2015 What 200 military drone crashes tells us about the drone wars
06/09/2012 A Century of Drone Crashes


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Drones – The Basics
Jan 2010 What are Drones? (2010)
Oct 2014 A Brief History of Drones
Apr 2019 The Danger of Drones
Jan 2022 Drone Wars  – Our Resources and Briefings
Nov 2021 Future Wars

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Editorial (Campaign Comment)
30/05/2025 The Strategic Defence Review and Drone Warfare: Questioning a Dangerous Consensus
12/08/2024 Operation Without End: Time to halt UK’s now decade-long air war in Iraq and Syria
23/02/2024 MoD publish new UK ‘Drone Strategy’ and its embarrassing, superficial nonsense.
19/02/2024 The Next Wave: the emergence of drones at sea
15/05/2023 The UK and the Ukraine War: Drones vs Diplomacy
09/01/2023 Why we oppose today’s planned UK space launch
14/04/2022 Ukraine and the ethical debate on armed drones: some early reflections
03/12/2021 Six strikes that show the reality of drone warfare today
09/11/2020 How pandemic responses are helping to sanitise the public image of drones
21/08/2020 Five years on from UK’s first drone targeted killing, increasing secrecy needs serious challenge
01/06/2020 Happy birthday to us! Drone Wars UK is ten
09/01/2020 Drones, targeted killing and the Soleimani Strike
2019/01/09 The Gatwick drone: A taste of the technology
29/10/2018 Why we persist in opposing the growing use of armed drones
09/10/2017 After ten years, time to ground Britain’s drones
31/05/2016 Reviewing the current debate on drones
28/01/2016 Einsteinian insanity: momentum grows to bomb Libya again
04/12/2015 Are we being misguided about precision strike?
16/11/2015 Dannatt defends drones but ignores the real issues
2015/06/25 Blurred lines: Drones, the UK and the slippery slope to permanent war
05/12/2014 The dirty consequences of our clean wars
04/09/2014 The danger of ‘sending in the drones’
20/03/2014 What’s wrong with drones?
14/02/2013 If you think like Paddy Ashdown on drones, then think again
24/10/2012 A challenge to drone apologists – where is your evidence?
19/08/2012 Reflecting on the recent rash of writing on morality and drones
08/07/2011 The search for truth in the war over drones


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Interviews
27/09/2018 “Here’s their actual stories, make of them what you will.” Dr Peter Lee on Britain’s Reaper Force
08/01/2018 “Thinking war is bloodless is a mistake.” Talking drones and remote war with Air Marshall Bagwell
30/05/2017 “It was incessant.” Former RAF Reaper pilot speaks to Drone Wars


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Israel and Drones
12/03/2025 After Gaza ‘ceasefire’, Israel’s drone wars move to devastate the West Bank
12/11/2019 ‘Precise’ Strikes: Fractured Bodies, Fractured Lives – An update on Israel’s drone wars
14/02/2016 ‘Anarchist’ hacks Israeli drones
14/07/2014 Europe condemns civilian casualties in Gaza while procuring Israeli ‘combat proven’ drones
10/01/2014 Israel and the Drone Wars – New Briefing from Drone Wars UK
13/02/2013 HRW: Israeli drone strikes killed Palestinian civilians and violated laws of war
27/11/2012 Gaza under drones


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Protector
12/05/2025 RAF’s new armed drone given approval to fly freely over UK
14/02/2025 RAF’s new armed drones begin test and training flights over UK
12/10/2023 New ‘Protector’ armed drones to begin flying in UK – Join the protest on 13 November
13/09/2022 Public consultation on allowing armed drones to fly from RAF Waddington opened – have your say!
15/02/2021 General Atomics plan flights of its new drone in UK – safety fears rerouted previous flights in the US    
18/08/2020 Watchdog reports continuing problems with Protector and Watchkeeper drone programmes
09/03/2020 New briefing on ‘Protector’ drone as MoD pressure on air safety regulator revealed
09/06/2019 Military drone crash data undermines MoD case to fly Protector drones in UK
28/01/2019 General Atomics bring in BAE Systems to lobby for ‘Protector’ drone to fly in UK
26/06/2018 New ‘Protector’ drone to fly into UK next month
12/02/2018 Revealed: internal discussions between MoD and regulators on flying Predator drones in UK
21/08/2017 ‘Significant issues’ facing MoD drone projects says spending watchdog
26/02/2016 Basis of new British “Protector” drone test flown in California
05/10/2015 UK rebrands Predators as ‘Protectors’ while ignoring difficult questions


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Proliferation

10/03/2025 Death on Delivery: New Report examines civilian harm from intensifying drone warfare across Africa
03/03/2025 Armed Drone Proliferation: Continued Exports Leading to Civilian Casualties
13/02/2024 Proliferation of armed drones continues apace resulting in numerous civilian casualties
21/06/2023 Small drones, big problem. Two new reports examine the rise of armed ‘one-way attack’ drones 
22/03/2023 Armed drone proliferation update – March ’23
09/05/2022 Armed drone proliferation update – May 2022
15/07/2021 Armed drone Proliferation Update – July 2021
05/07/2021 Turkey driving drone proliferation in its quest for market supremacy
08/01/2021 On the Edge: Security, protracted conflicts and the role of drones in Eurasia
06/01/2021 Armed drone proliferation Update –  Jan 2021
21/10/2020 Crowded Sky, Contested Sea: Drones over the South and East China Seas
14/10/2020 The use of drones in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
27/07/2020 US declares it will breach arms control agreement to sell more drones
15/07/2020 Armed drone proliferation Update, July 2020
27/01/2020 Armed drone proliferation Update, Jan 2020
27/06/2019 Armed Drone Proliferation Update, June 2019
17/05/2018 New research shows rise in number of states deploying armed drones
06/04/2018 Three-month snapshot shows expanding use of armed drones
02/11/2017 Drones, proliferation and the MTCR: US presents discussion paper  
13/09/2017 Joint civil society statement on US-led armed drones control process
06/12/2016 Drone strikes spread as proliferation surges
14/10/2016 Armed drones control process must be opened to civil society groups and drone victims
02/09/2016 A new international control regime on armed drones led by the US?  What is going on?
19/07/2016 European use of military drones expanding
19/11/2014 UK drone exports – a peek behind the curtain
16/07/2013 Committee urges Government to ensure controls on drone exports are not weakened
18/09/2012 Mapping drone proliferation: big business vs. the MTCR
25/05/2012 Is Drone Proliferation about to Explode?
28/11/2011 Industry lobbying to change drone export control rules


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Public Perception
14/02/2021 New polling shows significant public concern over plans to expand use of drones in the UK
09/11/2020 How pandemic responses are helping to sanitise the public image of drones
23/04/2020 Protector starts with ‘PR’: the coming battle over military drone use in the UK
24/06/2020 Drone Strikes in Popular Culture: Eye in the Sky
26/03/2013 Flawed questions undermine new UK drone poll data
16/06/2012 Drone strikes poll shows mass disapproval
04/07/2011 Internal MoD briefing on British drones reveals push to capture public opinion


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Risk-Free War
07/12/2020 Intervention ‘without the need to consider the human cost’: MoD thinking on UK’s new drone revealed
12/02/2016 Drones do ‘lower threshold for use of lethal force’ academic study finds
04/12/2015 Are we being misguided about precision strike?


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Secrecy
26/09/2024 Drone Wars urges transparency and public oversight of UK military operations at Information Tribunal
28/05/2024 FoI challenge shows MoD claim of “thousands of cutting edge” drones in service to be nonsense
24/10/2023 MoD abruptly ends responding to FoI requests on UK drone operations
09/04/2024 Outdragon revealed: UK secretly using US signal intelligence pod on drone operations
02/06/2023 Tribunal upholds MoD refusal to disclose details of UK Reaper drone missions outside of Op Shader
09/08/2022 EU borders agency must improve information access arrangements following complaint by Drone Wars UK
24/06/2022 Unreported drone strikes revealed as complete list of UK air and drone strikes against ISIS published  
09/03/2022 MoD challenged at Information Tribunal on secret UK Reaper drone operations
02/03/2020 FoI reveals UK flying Reaper drone missions outside of operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria
17/08/2017 Information tribunal dismisses Drone Wars appeal over British drone secrecy
07/07/2017 Where are Britain’s armed drones? Why Drone Wars is going to court to seek answers
21/11/2016 Where are Britain’s armed drones? And why it matters we are not allowed to know
01/04/2016 UK setting dangerous precedent in refusing basic information about drone use
12/08/2015 UK operations in Iraq/Syria:  New reporting methods means less transparency & understanding
04/06/2015 Mystery over UK’s armed drones – MoD says some in storage in UK while Defence Secretary says all 10 are “out on service”
02/04/2015 Finally revealed: UK drone strikes in Afghanistan by province
07/11/2014 Drones in Iraq and Syria: What we know and what we don’t
18/08/2014 Drone Wars UK refused permission for full hearing on drones FoI request before Upper Tribunal
02/07/2014 UK Drone FoI appeal set to reach Upper Tribunal
30/10/2013 Drone campaigners vow to pursue transparency despite losing Information Tribunal
24/10/2013 UN pushes hard for more transparency on drones
16/09/2013 Drone Wars UK to challenge UK drone secrecy in court
30/08/2013 UK MoD releases two presentations on British drones to Drone Wars UK
28/05/2013 After five years of British drone strikes, five basic facts we are simply not allowed to know
18/01/2013 Yet more drone secrets
06/03/2012 Transatlantic pressure for transparency on drone strikes
31/05/2011 British Drone Strikes in Afghanistan in 2010: What we know and what we need to know


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Space
11/09/2023 Online Webinar: ‘Scotland Says Keep Space for Peace’ Tues 19th September, 7pm
06/07/2023 Taking off but falling short: Assessing the environmental impact of the UK’s spaceport ventures
09/01/2023 Why we oppose today’s planned UK space launch
08/12/2022 Challenging the environmental impact of the UK’s military expansion into space
17/10/2022 Join us to protest the Cornwall space launch and #KeepSpaceforPeace
08/08/2022 Webinar: ‘For Heaven’s Sake: Examining the UK’s Militarisation of Space’
09/06/2022 New briefing: For Heaven’s Sake – Examining the UK’s Militarisation of Space
10/01/2022 (Un)Safe Space: The growing military and commercial exploitation of space
10/05/2021 No Space for Peace in the Integrated Security Review


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Specific Conflicts
27/04/2022 Drones with European components significantly impact Ethiopian conflict
22/07/2021 New report examines civilian deaths in French drone-instigated air strike in Mali
14/10/2020 The use of drones in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
25/08/2020 Drones in the Sahel: in whose interest?


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Turkey and Drones
05/07/2021 Turkey driving drone proliferation in its quest for market supremacy
14/10/2020 The use of drones in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
15/06/2020 Turkey’s unprecedented ascent to drone superpower status


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UK Drone Operations
02/07/2025 The UK’s forgotten war: British drone strikes continue against ISIS
14/02/2025 RAF’s new armed drones begin test and training flights over UK
12/08/2024 Operation Without End: Time to halt UK’s now decade-long air war in Iraq and Syria
09/04/2024 Outdragon revealed: UK secretly using US signal intelligence pod on drone operations
24/10/2023 MoD abruptly ends responding to FoI requests on UK drone operations
05/05/2023 UK deployed Reaper drone to Sudan
14/03/2023 Defence Secretary confirms UK drone targeted killing in Syria
24/06/2022 Unreported drone strikes revealed as complete list of UK air and drone strikes against ISIS published  
09/03/2022 MoD challenged at Information Tribunal on secret UK Reaper drone operations
21/02/2022 British Reaper drone crashed after landing at undisclosed location in December 2021
27/01/2022 Cost of UK air operations in Iraq and Syria tops £2bn with no end to strikes in sight
01/11/2021 Overview of UK air strikes in Iraq and Syria since the territorial defeat of ISIS in March 2019
31/08/2021 UK planning for strikes against ISIS in Afghanistan says head of Royal Air Force
07/05/2021 UK air war in Middle East continues with no end in sight
04/05/2021 The Overseas Operations Act, drone strikes, and the presumption of lawfulness
18/08/2020 Revealed: Private contractors flying British armed drones as number of UK strikes in Iraq increase again
06/06/2020 A Joint Enterprise: How the UK and the US co-operate on drone warfare
02/03/2020 FoI reveals UK flying Reaper drone missions outside of operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria
05/11/2019 UK drones more likely to target individuals than infrastructure data analysis reveals
24/10/2019 MoD discloses two crashes of British Reaper drones in FoI response
09/05/2019 UK ops in Iraq and Syria: Reaper drones likely to play an increasing part says senior RAF officer
11/02/2019 Latest FoI release from MoD shows extent of UK air and drone war in Syria
09/07/2018 New Report: Falling Short: An analysis of the reporting of UK drone strikes by the MoD
02/05/2018 MoD accidentally reveals British drones firing thermobaric missiles in Syria
02/05/2018 UK drone strike kills civilian in Syria admits MoD
26/02/2018 Cost of UK air and drone strikes in Iraq and Syria reach £1.75 billion
20/02/2018 New FoI data release on UK air and drone operations in Iraq and Syria
30/08/2017 New FoI figures on UK air and drone strikes in Iraq and Syria
30/05/2017 “It was incessant.” Former RAF Reaper pilot speaks to Drone Wars
27/02/2017 New Report: British Drone Operations Against ISIS, 2014-2016
05/07/2016 British air strikes in Iraq and Syria increase by 85% – UK approaching 1,000 strikes milestone
15/06/2016 FoI reveals only 5% of British air strikes in Iraq and Syria are pre-planned
03/05/2016 Scepticism over casualty claims as new data suggests some UK drones may have moved
04/03/2016 500 days of British drone operations in Iraq and Syria
11/01/2016 UK drone and air strikes in 2015 – a look at the data
07/09/2015 Briton killed by targeted British drone strike
12/08/2015 UK increases drone missions in Syria
01/07/2015  Cameron testing the water on British drone strikes in Syria
15/05/2015 New figures for British air and drone strikes in Iraq
2015/04/02 Finally revealed: UK drone strikes in Afghanistan by province
14/01/2015 UK airstrikes in Iraq hit 100 – one third by drones
22/12/2014 UK’s armed drones now in Middle East and UK say MoD
11/11/2014 UK launches drone strikes in Iraq (again)
16/10/2014 UK Reaper drones to be sent to Iraq
30/09/2014 UK’s much delayed Watchkeeper drone deployed to Afghanistan
22/07/2014 New figures show UK increasingly relying on drones for strikes in Afghanistan
03/07/2014 UK doubles armed drone fleet in Afghanistan
22/04/2014 Project Crossbow: How a Norfolk RAF base plugs into the drone wars
07/02/2014 British drone strikes in Afghanistan using borrowed US drones revealed
06/02/2014 New British drone strike stats released to Drone Wars UK
01/05/2013 First British drone strike carried out from UK RAF Waddington
25/04/2013 BREAKING NEWS: UK MoD confirms British Reaper drones in Afghanistan being controlled from RAF Waddington
09/11/2012 New figures reveal almost 1,500 US/UK drone strikes in Afghanistan since 2009
02/11/2012 UK drone strike casualty figures: incredible or just not credible?
22/10/2012 Breaking: UK ‘stands up’ new drone squadron this week
26/09/2012 Shelling Out: New Report Shows UK Has Spent £2bn on Drones
29/02/2012 UK Drone Strikes: Peeking Behind the Curtain
13/10/2011 UK MoD release presentations on Reaper and Watchkeeper drones to Drone Wars UK under FoI
06/07/2011 Afghan civilians killed in UK drone strike
31/05/2011 British Drone Strikes in Afghanistan in 2010: What we know and what we need to know
12/10/2010 UK Has Five Reapers in Service: RAF staff officer speaks about Reaper operations
21/09/2010 Another British Reaper Drone Arrives in Afghanistan


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UK Drone Development Programmes
19/03/2025 Companies vying for share of purloined aid budget as UK plans to spend big on drones and military tech
21/1/2024 Watchkeeper drones scrapped – but will any lessons be learnt?
13/06/2024 Autonomous Collaborative Platforms: The UK’s New Autonomous Drones
22/05/2023 Cyborg Dawn?  Human-machine fusion and the future of warfighting
05/09/2022 MoD to hold ‘duel of drones’ to choose new armed unmanned system
04/07/2022 Smoke and mirrors: FoI shows there appears little substance to the RAF’s drone swarm squadron
02/08/2021 RAF drone programmes fly into stormy skies
09/06/2021 MoD report urges embrace of human augmentation to fully exploit drones and AI for warfighting
18/02/2021 ‘All the warfare of the future’: Drones, new technology and the Integrated Review
07/12/2020 Intervention ‘without the need to consider the human cost’: MoD thinking on UK’s new drone revealed
29/09/2020 The future of British combat air power in the second drone age
01/05/2020 XLUUVs, Swarms, and STARTLE: New developments in the UK’s military autonomous systems
02/09/2019 UK rapidly developing new drone programmes: Mosquito and swarming
14/08/2019 Zephyr and the development of high-altitude military surveillance drones
10/11/2018 Off the Leash: How the UK is developing the technology to build armed autonomous drones
10/09/2018 Tempestuous relations: Brexit and UK future drone developments
12/02/2018 Revealed: internal discussions between MoD and regulators on flying Predator drones in UK
11/06/2016 BAE Systems pushing ahead with autonomous drone targeting
31/01/2014 UK-French combat drone project gets more funding
26/07/2012 Wither Telemos?
17/02/2012 UK-France declaration on drones
17/02/2012 Anglo-French drone takes another step forward
09/09/2010 Out Staring The Gorgon: BAE, Drones and ARGUS
18/06/2010 MoD confirms joint UK/France study into future drone


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UK Government Policy
12/05/2025 RAF’s new armed drone given approval to fly freely over UK
29/07/2023 MoD AI projects list shows UK is developing technology that allows autonomous drones to kill
18/02/2021 ‘All the warfare of the future’: Drones, new technology and the Integrated Review
04/05/2021 The Overseas Operations Act, drone strikes, and the presumption of lawfulness
06/11/2017 Perpetual war: UK’s armed drones to stay deployed beyond campaign against ISIS
13/09/2017 New MoD document on use of drones, same old spin
01/07/2015 Cameron testing the water on British drone strikes in Syria
29/05/2015 Drones and the Strategic Defence Review
23/10/2014 An initial response to the report of the Birmingham Policy Commission on Drones
30/07/2014 PR Trumps Transparency Part II: Government response to Select Committee report on drones
24/03/2014 Defence Select Committee issues report on drones: PR trumps transparency
17/01/2014 MoD’s drones PR offensive continues as UK commits to a drone filled future
18/12/2013 MoD undertakes PR offensive on drones
11/07/2013 UK Defence Select Committee announces remit of inquiry into use of drones
08/06/2013 Lawyers Challenge Legal Basis of UK Drone Strikes
10/12/2012 Drones continue rapid development as Parliament begins to grapple with the issue
20/11/2012 UK Defence Select Committee to investigate use of armed drones
04/07/2011 Internal MoD briefing on British drones reveals push to capture public opinion
17/04/2011 New MoD document recognises legal, ethical and moral issues raised by use of armed drones


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UK Targeted Killing
02/07/2025 The UK’s forgotten war: British drone strikes continue against ISIS
14/03/2023 Defence Secretary confirms UK drone targeted killing in Syria
31/10/2022 A deadly legacy: 20 years of drone targeted killing
03/08/2022 The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri:  the tip of the targeted killing iceberg
09/07/2020 New UN Special Rapporteur report on armed drones and targeted killing – its relevance for the UK
19/01/2020 New Report – In the Frame: UK media coverage of drone targeted killing
12/10/2017 The lawfulness of the drone strike against Sally Jones
27/04/2017 Intelligence Committee Report on UK Drone Killing: Little Information. Few Answers. No Accountability
18/04/2017 PM must publish Intelligence Committee report on UK drone killings
12/01/2017 Attorney General speaks on legality of UK pre-emptive drone strikes
18/08/2016 Truth and consequences: One year on what we know (and what we don’t) about the Khan killing
10/05/2016 Parliamentary Human Rights Committee release report into drones and targeted killing
14/12/2015 Fallon to face questions on drone targeted killing – but will there be answers?
08/09/2015 British drones and targeted killing: UK follows the lead of the US and Israel
07/09/2015 Briton killed by targeted British drone strike


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UK Airspace
12/05/2025 RAF’s new armed drone given approval to fly freely over UK
26/07/2022 UK Government release ‘Drone Ambition Statement’ to renew push to open UK skies to drones
07/02/2022 Drone Wars Select Committee submission on use of the military drones in countering migrant crossings
26/10/2021 On the horizon: drone spies coming to UK skies
04/08/2021 CAA opens UK skies to military drones
07/06/2021 Above us only drones? The safety and privacy concerns of the expanding use of drones in the UK
09/11/2020 How pandemic responses are helping to sanitise the public image of drones
09/06/2019 Military drone crash data undermines MoD case to fly Protector drones in UK
09/01/2019 The Gatwick drone: A taste of the technology
12/02/2018 Revealed: internal discussions between MoD and regulators on flying Predator drones in UK
07/09/2012 Europe to open skies to drones by 2016 says Commission document


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US Drone Operations
19/1/2024 US ramps up spy drone surveillance of Occupied Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon
27/07/2023 US military drones set to fly from UK from 2024
16/11/2022 Task Force 99: New US drone unit begins work in the Middle East
31/10/2022 A deadly legacy: 20 years of drone targeted killing
03/08/2022 The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri:  the tip of the targeted killing iceberg
03/01/2022 Skyborg: AI control of military drones begins to take off
25/08/2020 Drones in the Sahel: in whose interest?
09/01/2020 Drones, targeted killing and the Soleimani Strike
13/06/2014 US Drone Strikes return to Pakistan – and imminently to Iraq?
26/05/2013 Obama speaks about drone wars
30/06/2012 Drone strikes widening? Mystery airstrikes reported in Mali and the Philippines
28/03/2012 US military investigation damns drone operators
31/01/2012 Obama admits drone strikes in Pakistan as US drone strikes Yemen
23/07/2011 NATO asks US for Drones “to find stuff to blow up” in Libya
19/07/2011 TBIJ uncovers civilian deaths in US drone strikes
20/05/2011 US drone strikes return to Pakistan with a vengeance as resistance grows
21/02/2011 US drone strikes resume in Pakistan
11/11/2010 Death TV: Overwhelmed and bored analysts recommending drone strikes
15/09/2010 US Drone Strikes Intensify In Pakistan
01/08/2010 US Army Special Forces Unit Gets New Drone
08/06/2010 CIA Officers Against Drones