The use of drones has become ubiquitous with modern warfare and is seen widespread across many different countries where war and conflicts are happening. The use of drones for striking and surveillance capabilities has become prominent in conventional warfare where it is used by state actors, as can be seen in the Ukraine war, as well as internal conflicts such as civil wars and insurgencies where other non-state actors have been deploying drones. The use of drones is fuelling not only a modern arms race but also the modern cold war and proxy war between Western nations and Russia and their allies, notably China. This cold war and subsequent proxy wars can be seen in theatres such as Africa and South East Asia where large nation powers are using various wars and conflicts to vie for and expand their power and control. The use of drones is therefore both a natural evolution of technological warfare as seen by the historical use of UAV’S (unmanned ariel vehicles) for real time surveillance, and as a breaking new revolution where the use and development of drone capabilities has surged astronomically since the onset of the Ukraine war. During this revolution Ukraine has been used as a testing ground for new and innovative drone capabilities and is an example on the world stage of how drones can, and should be used in modern warfare. In addition to this, and even more prevalent since the recent drone attacks on a RAF base in Cyprus, there has emerged an argument as to whether the use of drones will lead to an increase or decrease in war and violence as the means of settling international disputes by nation’s decision makers. On the one hand, the use of drone capabilities increases the options available to decision makers whilst reducing the risk to human life and has also reduce economic cost and so may increase the use of drones. However, on the other hand, the increased use of drones and their ever expanding capabilities, not only leads to the possibility of more ways in which battlefield commanders can strike designated targets, but also with the advancement of AI driven drone capabilities the question arises whether drones will actually lead to more human deaths due to inability to differentiate between civilian targets and military or between human targets and technological. The real question then, is not whether drone warfare is a natural evolution or a breaking revolution as it can be seen to be both, but whether the use of drones will have a positive impact on future conflicts with the reduction of human risk or whether it will have a negative impact on future conflicts. This article will set out to show that the now inseparable use of drones from modern warfare is both a natural and historical evolution of military technology as well as a new breaking revolution, Ukraine is leading the front of that revolution, where drone warfare has become so prominent that it is no longer distinguishable from modern war fighting. The article will also, in part address the ethical questions of the use of drone capabilities.
Originally just used as UAVs for surveillance purposes in the Iraq war, drones saw their first widespread use during the war on terror in the 2000’s. Drones have now developed into the most useful and cost affective weapons platform on the modern battlefield which are currently killing more soldiers in the Ukraine war than any other weapon. In a horrific description, Drones are seen to yield the “best cost per kill”, whilst drone manufacturers and military users are constantly adapting to find the best way of reducing the time of the “kill-chain”.[1] The kill chain is the time it takes from target acquisition and surveillance to target destruction/ or a strike on that target; battlefield victory now depends on who has the shortest kill chain.[2] Drones have completely revolutionised the war in Ukraine negating Russia’s power and numerical advantage and showing the capability of drones used in both defence and by a smaller disadvantaged force against a larger and, on paper, more capable force. “Ukraine cannot match the mass deployment of overwhelming numbers of troops and weapons that Russia relies on.” Due to this the Ukrainian military has instead focused and relied upon technological advantages which has led to their extensive use and development of drones. Drones have surpassed artillery as the natural “king” of the battlefield and are currently killing more troops in the Ukraine war than any other type of weapon.[3] Since 2022 Ukraine has rapidly increased and developed its drone manufacturing and use of drones in combat. In the first 11 months of 2024 Ukraine’s MOD delivered over 1.2 million drones and over 6000 deep strike drones were supplied. This has led to a drone revolution where the whole world is, sadly, using the Ukraine war as a testing ground for new innovative warfighting drone technologies with “Growing niche applications include everything from dropping mines to breathing fire to UAVs ramming one another out of the sky”. Ukraine manufacture most of its own drones. They have now developed and began using AI powered drones. This drone revolution in Europe has therefore allowed Ukraine to compete with Russia and stay in the fight for much longer than previously anticipated. This use of drone warfare by the Ukrainian military has then had a knock-on effect on the rest of the world, causing a worldwide arms race where countries are scrambling to create their own drone and counter drone capabilities. This drone revolution, with Ukraine at its forefront, can again be seen by the fact Ukraine has developed new and specific drone regiments, battalions, and units within its armed forces, the AFU(Armed Forces of Ukraine). These are completely new, and like a lot of drone warfare innovations, crated and implemented by Ukraine, is the first of its kind. For example, Madyar’s Bird’s drone strike regiment. in December 2024 “Major Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi, a key figure in Ukraine’s drone warfare development, announced that his strike drone regiment would become a separate uncrewed systems brigade within the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).”[4] Ukraine, whilst also being at the forefront of drone warfare development, have led and revolutionised the use of drones in naval combat. The Ukrainian use of maritime drones, used to strike Russian surface and below surface vessels, as well as offshore military infrastructure, has completely negated the previously thought of advantage of the Russian navy in the Black sea and has limited the Russian navy to staying within the Eastern side of the Black Sea. Whilst the use of drones is clearly a continuation of those seen in the Iraq war, Ukraine has completely revolutionised drone capabilities and technology to the point that modern warfare cannot be separated from the use of military drones.
Drones have not just revolutionised warfare in Ukraine and not even just for large world powers. Drones are also being used for military purposes by non-state actors, private miliatry organisations, and even by terrorist organisations. This can be seen by devastating attacks such as an attack In February on a civilian vehicle convoy.[5] The convoy, carrying displaced families near the city of Rahad, was targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the attack was followed by another drone strike on a World Food Program Aid Convoy. The attacks resulted in resulted in at least twenty-four civilians dead with many other injured. This horrific attack shows the negative results of the increase in drone warfare and their now inseparable use in modern conflicts. This is a starke example of where the ethical arguments surronding the use of militarised drones comes in and shows that, when used by non-state actors, drones do not reduce the cost to human life. In addition to this, conventional world powers have been using the export of drone technologies and capabilities to further their influence and political power in smaller nations such as countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. Drones are therefore, again seen to be at a centre of a modern cold war and arms race where large nations are competing against each other and smaller nations as well as non-state actors are having their warfighting irreversibly changed. Drones being used by large nation states to gain power can prominently be seen in the case studies of Ethiopia and Myanmar. In Africa, the previous theory that drones may reduce the cost of human life in conflicts is clearly not upheld. Violence, due to drone warfare, is now increasingly being used by governments in Africa as a new cheaper and easier option for decision makers. In the Ethiopian civil war, the government has been using drones extensively to target rebel fortifications, convoys, and troop movements.[6] “Aerial strikes have ravaged communities, including in the particularly brutal civil war in Tigray (2020-2022) as well as lower-scale ongoing conflicts in the regions of Oromia (2019-) and Amhara (2023-).” The Ethiopian army commander, field-marshal Birhanu Jula, stated that “Drones were made for war! We purchased them for battle, not to parade them in the media,”. This again shows that there is a drone revolution not just a natural warfare evolution. Drones have flooded the military markets in smaller, developing countries and are mimicking warfare in Ukraine. Because of this there has been an undeniable worldwide drone revolution where the face of modern warfare is forever changed and will always include the use of unmanned drones. Again, the use of drones for military strikes in Ethiopia has not reduced the risk to human life and has not been used instead of violence. The use of drones has in fact led to an increase in war crimes where “many domestic conflicts in Africa are inflamed by ethnic tensions, especially the repression of ethnic groups’ demands for autonomy by centralised governments.” This has in turn led to Western powers removing support for certain African countries which has in turn paved the way for countries such as Russia and China to provide their support and help supply drone technologies as well as complete drones, increasing their soft power in these regions. This shows that drones are being used by major world powers in proxy-cold war style conflicts and are used as ways to extend power and influence. Both the government forces and the rebels have begun using drones with the government purchasing drones and drone technologies from Russia, China, Turkey, and the UAE.
Another prominent case study showing the changed landscape of modern warfare and the cold war playing out between major world powers can be seen in the Myanmar civil war. Over the years of fighting since 2021 there has been at least 80,000 deaths due to the civil war and during this time “aerial warfare has been crucial to the conflict”.[7] The Myanmar military has extensively used air superiority to gain control and strike targets but recently since 2024 there has been a large shift from conventional air superiority to a large-scale use of drones. Both the government and rebel forces have begun using and deploying drones and this further demonstrates the drone revolution that has erupted in modern warfare. Both sides are now “increasingly relying on drones to gain the strategic edge in the air” whilst the conflict as a whole “now ranks third globally for the number of drone events recorded by ACLED, only behind Ukraine and Russia.” As seen in the Ukraine war drones are being used by smaller non-conventional forces to compete and combat more powerful forces as can be seen with the small Ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) combatting Myanmar's military junta. The rebels started off by using and adapting civilian drones for military purposes where “The greater availability of drone technology allowed non-state groups to adapt commercial drones for reconnaissance and combat purposes, enabling new offensive operations.” The key difference is that the rebels have had to source, create, and develop their own drone capabilities whereas government militaries such as Mynamar’s can buy theirs from other foreign, drone making countries. “The supply, modification, and deployment” of these drones have allowed resistance groups to gain ground and gain advances in land warfare which has countered Myanmar’s armed force’s air superiority. China has supplied both sides of the war but has recently criminalised the sale of drones to the rebels. Again, showing the use of drones and drone technologies by foreign powers to gain more political leverage.
The revolution in drone warfare has turned into a truly international affair. Every major country is trying to learn from the lessons in Ukraine and create their own capabilities. Nations are developing and then exporting drone capabilities for economic and political advantage, and smaller nations as well as non-state actors are using drones to combat and compete with larger nations and their own nation’s governments. The economic impact is also felt on the defence sector and through private investors. “The defense sector is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the increasing prevalence of drone attacks and the integration of artificial intelligence”.[8] Investors and defence technology businesses see this as an area for investment and development with drone making businesses and drone parts makers set to benefit immensely. This again shows not just a natural evolution but a new revolution in modern warfare that is shaping how the entire defence industry is moving forward. Further evidence of this can be seen by The Portuguese tech firm, TEKEVER, constructing a “254,000-square-foot (23,593 square meters) hub” In England for the production of drones.[9] Showing that “The UK has been scaling up investments in drones and artificial intelligence as militaries worldwide race to integrate autonomous systems.” As well as this, the RAF has committed £19 million to the tech company and have purchased drone platforms that have been sent to and are being used in Ukraine.[10] This is the same for other countries around the world such as India where the country has identified that in order to be able to defend itself and compete in modern warfare then they need their own drone capabilities and need to develop AI control capabilities for drones.[11] In addition to this companies such as The Naval Group are committed to the development of AI led drone warfare as well as the “dronisation” of their clients’ navies.[12] The Naval group use the Steeris AI system to power their technology and offer a range of naval combat systems that can work both on the surface, underwater, and in the air. They also offer drone docking stations for drones that can be used on manned vessels at sea. Their fleet of naval drones contains unmanned vessels as well as more conventional drones. This again brings up the difficulty that AI systems have. That of concerns where AI may not be able to differentiate between unmanned and manned systems or human and non-human targets. This shows an explosion of drones and AI capabilities on the defence sector market thus demonstrating again a drone cold war and a revolution in modern warfare led by the use and deployment of drones.
[1] Harding, T. (2026, February 13.) The new frontier of warfare: torpedo-drones fired from an unmanned mothership that can see off a submarine. The National.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2026/02/13/france-undersea-torpedo-drones-naval-warfare/
[2] Samus, M. (2025). Drone-Centric Warfare. International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS). http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep66549
[3] Andersson, J. J., Simon, S. (2024). Minding the drone gap: Drone warfare and the. EUISS, 17, 1-4.
https://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/briefs/minding-drone-gap-drone-warfare-and-eu
[4] Samus, M. (2025). Drone-Centric Warfare. International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS).
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep66549
[5] Magdy, S. (2026, February 7). Drone attack by paramilitary group in Sudan kills 24, including 8 children, doctors’ group says. Associated Press News.
[6] Zelalem, Z. (2025). DEADLY SKIES: DRONE WARFARE IN ETHIOPIA AND THE FUTURE OF CONFLICT IN AFRICA. European Council on Foreign Relations.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep68047
[7] Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. (2025). The war from the sky: How drone warfare is shaping the conflict in Myanmar. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep71232
[8] Chen, E. (2025, Jue 7). Defense Stocks Soar as Drone Tech and AI Redefine Warfare. The Financial Analyst.
[9] Gavilan, J. (2025, September 19). Tekever to Build Its Largest UK Drone Manufacturing Site in Swindon. The Defense Post.
https://thedefensepost.com/2025/09/19/tekever-uk-drone-facility/
[10] Alision, G. (2025, September 16). Britain to open huge £400m military drone factory. UK Defence Journal.
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain-to-open-huge-400m-military-drone-factory/
[11] Varma, A. (2026, February 15). AI, Drones and Future Of Warfare: Where Does India Stand? Experts Decode At GBS. Times Now.