Unmanned combat aerial vehicle
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), and/or bombs in hardpoints for drone strikes.[1][2][3] These drones are usually under real-time human control, with varying levels of autonomy.[4] UCAVs are used for reconnaissance, attacking targets and returning to base; unlike kamikaze drones which are only made to explode on impact, or surveillance drones which are only for gathering intelligence.
Not to be confused with Loitering munition.Aircraft of this type have no onboard human pilot.[5] As the operator runs the vehicle from a remote terminal, equipment necessary for a human pilot is not needed, resulting in a lower weight and a smaller size than a manned aircraft. Many countries have operational domestic UCAVs, and many more have imported fighter drones or are in the process of developing them.[6]
Non-state actors[edit]
In the mid-2010s, the Islamic State terrorist group began attaching explosives to commercially-available quadcopters such as the Chinese-made DJI Phantom to bomb military targets in Iraq and Syria.[42] During the 2016–17 battle of Mosul, the Islamic State reportedly used drones as surveillance and weapons delivery platforms, using improvised cradles to drop grenades and other explosives.[43] An Islamic State drone facility was notably targeted by Royal Air Force strike aircraft during the battle.[44]
Militant groups during the Syrian civil war have also reportedly used UAVs in attacks, one example being a swarm of drones armed with bombs attacking Russian bases in western Syria in early January 2018.[45][46]
Starting in the 2020s, Mexican drug cartels began dropping reportedly hundreds of drone-carried bombs targeting both security forces and enemy gangs during turf wars.[47]
Counter drone tactics[edit]
There has been widespread use of drones in the Russo-Ukrainian War.[48] Ukrainian soldiers use GPS signals to guide a drone to find Russian artillery and to guide Ukrainian artillery. Jamming these drone GPS signals cause drones to operate less effectively,[49] as the operators of drones have to rely on pre-programmed routes through areas of jamming until communications can be restored. Other systems supplied by the West rely on automation.[50] Systems like the AeroVironment Switchblade can find targets autonomously, requiring human permission only to engage found targets.[48] In October 2022 a video appeared on the web showing two drones colliding and one being rendered unflyable as a result.[51] It was claimed that the filming drone was Ukrainian and the one destroyed was Russian.[51] If this is the case it would be the first recorded case of drone on drone combat.[51]
On 27 December 2022 North Korea sent five drones over the border. One reaching Seoul, all five returned to the North, despite a five-hour chase involving fighter jets and attack helicopters with some 100 rounds being fired. A South Korean KAI KT-1 Woongbi crashed although both crew survived. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (South Korea) released a statement in which it said that while it can stop attack drones, its ability to stop smaller spy drones is "limited". A senior official, Kang Shin-chul, said: "Our military's lack of preparedness has caused a lot of concern to the people…actively employ detection devices to spot the enemy's drone from an early stage and aggressively deploy strike assets". The South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has indicated that South Korea will invest in stealthy drones that could penetrate North Korea, with the creation of a new military unit.[52][53]
The South Korean Defence Ministry announced a new series of anti-drone measures, planning to spend some 560 billion won over the next five years. The money will go towards four new initiatives. One is an airborne laser that will be used to destroy larger drones whilst a jammer would be used on smaller drones. A new counter drone unit, made up of two squadrons, would also be created. The laser is already in the test phase and is expected to become operational in 2027. The jamming system has been described as "soft kill".[54]
Error in target selection[edit]
There are only estimates of the magnitude of the errors in target selection. However, they do occur and some of them become known.
One fatal "error" happened in December 2023, when the Nigerian army accidentally hit a village in northwestern Nigeria killing 85 civilians celebrating a Muslim festival.[55] The army said they thought the people were rebels.[56]
