Drones

Drones, both armed and unarmed, are fast becoming a major tool in modern warfare. Yet secrecy still surrounds much of their use. This makes it hard to understand their role and the legal issues that they raise. AOAV believes that there is an urgent need for more transparency, especially in terms of detailed casualty recording but also with regards to the actual capabilities and precision of drone technology.

7 Apr 2021
Latest figures show RAF airstrikes targeted 4,369 militants in Iraq and Syria since 2014; MOD maintains claim only one civilian killed
These new figures include 4,066 militants killed (93% of total), with 303 more militants wounded (7%).
5 Oct 2020
Nagorno-Karabakh: a rapid descent
A sudden shift in tactics - on both sides - in the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict has meant that civilians are increasingly being targeted in this decades-long war
7 Feb 2020
UK won’t say how many RAF bombs fail to explode – harms manufacturer’s ‘trade secrets’
UK Government won't say how many of its bombs failed to explode following air strikes in Iraq and Syria because it impacts “trade secrets” and relationship with arms producers.
25 Jul 2019
Drone-warfare and notions of heroism and masculinity in conflict examined
Where do the operators of unmanned aerial vehicles fit within increasingly blurred understanding of what it means to be a ‘heroic’ soldier?
22 Mar 2019
An interview with Janina Dill
Author and Oxford-based researcher Janina Dill talks with AOAV about protection of civilians and International Humanitarian Law in aerial-waged campaigns against insurgencies.
6 Sep 2018
The language of US air strikes examined
Exploring the narratives of US air-power: from uncritical media reporting to the lie inherent in the term 'precision bombing' - how America came to justify its air strikes to the world and itself
3 Mar 2016
House of Lords debates amendment to Armed Forces Bill relating to counting civilian casualties from RAF strikes
Suggested amendment was related to extending the RAF's reporting obligation on overseas deployments related to civilian injuries and deaths.
1 Aug 2014
Drone strike in Yemen
Drone strike in Yemen
18 Jun 2014
10 years on: the US’ covert drone campaign in Pakistan
The US has entered its eleventh year of carrying out drone strikes in Pakistan. AOAV considers the impacts of these attacks, and calls for more transparency on the practice of using drones.
26 Mar 2014
MPs demand greater transparency in UK use of drones
A new Defence Select Committee report calls for more transparency in the use of armed drones, especially in regards to intelligence sharing between UK and US forces.
12 Mar 2014
New UN report calls for independent inquiries into drone strikes
Ben Emmerson, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, urges states to launch independent inquiries into drone strikes that have lead to civilian casualties.
27 Feb 2014
European Parliament condemns extrajudicial drone strikes in landslide vote
Members of the European Parliament vote in favour of banning extrajudicial targeted killings using armed drones and call for a ban on the development of killer robots.