UAVs
-
RAF’s new armed drone given approval to fly freely over UK
The UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA) has issued ‘Military Type Certification’ to the UK’s new ‘Protector’ armed drone, meaning that it is now free to fly within UK airspace, including over populated areas. Continue reading
-
Drones. Death and Data
We have all become familiar with the drones and UAVs that have been used by the US over recent years that have caused such death and hardship across the Middle East and elsewhere, but current hostilities in the Ukraine have highlighted the value of smaller aircraft and brought the advent of a new form of… Continue reading
-
Ban Killer Drones: International Grassroots Movement to Ban Weaponized Drones Launched (Part 1)
An international grassroots movement to ban weaponized drones and military and police surveillance, entitled Ban Killer Drones, has been launched. Go to www.bankillerdrones.org to see the teamwork results of this excellent resource on the United States’s not-so-secret assassinations around the world. Continue reading
-
Drone Wars continues to pursue details of secret UK drone operations
Drone Wars is undertaking legal action in an attempt to gain details of secret British Reaper drone operations that has been taking place since at least 2019. Appealing against the MoD’s refusal to answer both FoI requests and parliamentary questions about these missions, Drone Wars is seeking answers before an Information Tribunal. Continue reading
-
On the Edge: Security, protracted conflicts and the role of drones in Eurasia
Our new report, ‘On the Edge: Security, protracted conflicts and the role of drones in Eurasia’ examines the proliferation of drones and loitering munitions (often descried as suicide drones) across Eurasia. It charts their increasing use along the borders of separatist areas, aims to shed some light on the acquisition of large Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE)… Continue reading
-
Watch: ‘Drone Warfare: Today, Tomorrow, Forever?’
Here’s a recording of the webinar to mark our 10th anniversary ‘Drone Warfare: Today, Tomorrow, Forever?’ Continue reading
-
A Joint Enterprise: How the UK and the US co-operate on drone warfare
A new report published today by Drone Wars UK investigates the co-operation between the UK and the US in relation to armed drone operations. While the UK insist its armed drone programme is separate and independent to that of the US, our report, ‘Joint Enterprise: An overview of US-UK co-operation on armed drone operations’, argues… Continue reading
-
Drone Wars at Ten #3: What’s next? A peek at the future
In this final post to mark our 10th birthday, I want to peer a little into the future, looking at what we are facing in relation to drone warfare in the coming years. Of course predicting the future is always a little foolish – perhaps especially so in the middle of a global pandemic –… Continue reading
-
Drone Wars at Ten #2: A decade of challenging drone secrecy
A key aspect of our work over the past decade has been to challenge the secrecy that surround the use of armed drones. The Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) insist that many aspects of these operations must remain secret in order to protect lives and national security. And in some cases, that is… Continue reading
-
XLUUVs, Swarms, and STARTLE: New developments in the UK’s military autonomous systems
In November 2018 Drone Wars UK published ‘Off The Leash’, an in-depth research report outlining how the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was actively supporting research into technology to support the development of armed autonomous drones despite the government’s public claims that it “does not possess fully autonomous weapons and has no intention of developing them”. … Continue reading
-
UK drones more likely to target individuals than infrastructure data analysis reveals
Examination of UK air strike data from the past two years shows that British unmanned drones have been used far more often to attack individuals on the ground in Iraq and Syria than the UK’s other strike aircraft, the Tornado or the Typhoon. Continue reading
-
Under the spotlight: European assistance to the ‘War on Terror’ drone strikes
President Donald Trump, who has stepped up the use of drones in Somalia and other areas, recently revoked a requirement for U.S. intelligence officials to give public reports listing the number of civilians killed in drone strikes and other attacks on terrorist targets outside war zones – a practice which was part of an accountability effort… Continue reading
-
Why we persist in opposing the growing use of armed drones By Chris Cole
Over the past two weeks, campaigners have been in New York taking part in meetings at the UN urging diplomats to control the proliferation and use of armed drones. Drone Wars UK was one of the more than 50 organisations signing a joint statement released to coincide with the meetings. Continue reading
-
Book Review: Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies by Elke Schwarz By Joanna Frew
The ethical concerns raised by Elke Schwarz in her new book, Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies, help situate the use of armed drones in a deeper discussion of our modern political landscape and point to the issues that must be addressed through substantial ethical reasoning. Continue reading
-
Harry Patch: ‘organised murder’ – civilian slaughter by our special friend, with our help
The Pentagon has told Congress it estimates that nearly 500 civilians were killed as a result of US military actions in the first year of the Trump administration. According to CNN: “(The Department of Defense) assesses that there are credible reports of approximately 499 civilians killed and approximately 169 civilians injured during 2017” as a… Continue reading
-
Britain’s war – denials wear thin: defence secretary now acknowledges civilian killing by RAF
Britain is at war with more than 1600 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor of the Times reports the killing of a civilian by RAF drone in Syria. Continue reading
-
Iowa City moves to ban drones, traffic cameras and license plate readers
The residents of Iowa City, Iowa have moved to ban drones, red-light cameras and license plate readers in what is likely the most thorough action taken by a town yet against modern surveillance technologies. Continue reading
-
US panel debates drone legality
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UVA’s) or drones are remote-controlled aircraft without people onboard, which can carry and utilize missiles. It is widely suspected that the US has used drones frequently to target al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan, although Washington has never admitted nor denied it. But in alleged UVA attacks targeting the fighters,… Continue reading
-
US drone strikes may break international law: UN official
US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN’s top investigator of such crimes said Tuesday. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 