The History of Drone Warfare

During the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both sides have made significant use of cheap, self-built, FPV drones as well as consumer-level drones. Due to this, and the large amount of reporting on the conflict, this has led some to believe that this is a new type of warfare. Although, the history of this type of munition extends long before 2022. However, one problem is there are a significant number of systems that share very little in common that can fall under the term "Drone".

"Unmanned" may become confusing when we look at the use of drone systems for casevac, where casualties may be carried out from the point of injury by remotely-operated vehicles. So to avoid that I will refer to them as uncrewed.

I must also be careful of terms such as "remotely-operated", as more and more work is being placed into the use of autonomy to detect targets and to evade electronic warfare systems and also due to increasing use of terminal-phase AI.

So how do we write a definition that clearly includes everything from a consumer DJI Mavic-type drone being used to drop grenades on targets, to a self-built radio-controlled one-way FPV strike drone - whilst excluding the AGM-114 Hellfire missile and the TOW anti-tank missile. Even fully autonomous drones are a distinct beast from traditional missile systems due to their ability to loiter and retarget once launched and so should be included.

Some people would include uncrewed ground vehicles and uncrewed surface vessels under the term "drone", but for the purposes of this article I will mainly be discussing aerial vehicles - the sole reasoning being that I will write a dedicated article for the ground and surface variants. I will leave determining whether to include those vehicles under the umbrella term "drone" as an exercise for the reader.

That leaves us with the uncomfortable working definition of a combat drone: "an uncrewed combat vehicle." But I will also use the term remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) to differentiate from fully autonomous vehicles wherever that distinction is important.

All of that preamble said, here's the story of one hundred years of drone warfare:

The World Wars

During World War I the British were working on remotely piloted systems. This work resulted in trials of both remotely piloted aerial vehicles for the Royal Flying Corps and uncrewed boats for the Royal Navy^[2]. Whilst many early aerial systems were called "Aerial Targets" (AT), this was a cover name to deceive those who may be monitoring the developments. These ATs were remotely piloted^[1]. The AT first flew in March 1917^[4] - and was quickly followed by the United States Kettering Bug in October 1918. Despite successful testing, neither was used in combat.

Development of similar systems continued during the inter-war period, and the Imperial War Museum reports that they believe the term "Drone" started to be used around 1935, inspired by the DH.82B Queen Bee^[1][3], which was a radio-controlled, remotely-piloted version of the Tiger Moth, developed for use as a gunnery training target^[3].

Determining when exactly the first drone strike took place is difficult, as much of the development and testing of these systems was, or is, classified. However, a contender for the earliest drone strike took place in 1944. On July 30th 1944, four TDR-1 aircraft flew a demonstration flight to strike the beached Japanese freighter, Yamazuki Maru.  Of the four aircraft, three struck the target and two exploded^[8].

In September 27, 1944, four TDR-1 armed with 2,000 pound bombs flew 55 miles to attack a Japanese anti-aircraft battery. One successfully struck the target^[8].

As technology improved more and more experiments and test flights were conducted. For example, in 1946 the United States set a new endurance record for a remotely-controlled aircraft - flying 2,600 miles over 15 hours, using a drone prototype based on the airframe of a B-17 Flying Fortress^[1], as part of "Operation Remote". Two aircraft made the trip; these aircraft would also be flown into radioactive clouds created by atomic bombs as part of the Bikini atom-bomb tests^[6].

Vietnam (1965-1973)

During the Vietnam War, drones began to see large scale use, as reconnaissance aircraft. Although other capabilities were developed, such as use as decoys, missile launch platforms, and for leaflet dropping^[1]. For example, in the 1960s, the United States modified the Ryan Firebee to add a stealth surveillance capability. Between 1964 and 1975 these aircraft were launched and controlled from Lockheed DC-130s and flew over 34,000 surveillance missions over Southeast Asia^[14].

Afghanistan (2001)

If you try to find a definition for "The First Drone War", you will not find consensus. However, The Global War on Terror could be said to be the first major operational use of armed drones as a weapons platform - and of course there was significant use of drones during that conflict for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) purposes too. During this conflict the "Predator" drone became infamous. Known as the RQ-1 Predator when used for reconnaissance missions and later the MQ-1 when used in the "multi-role", for example when carrying AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

Although the (RQ-1) Predator first entered service in 1995, this was as an ISR system and it wasn't until 23 January 2001 that it fired its first missile^[10] - an inert AGM-114C, fired from a static position at range in Nevada, with an airborne launch following in February 2001. On 7 October 2001 the MQ-1 Predator flew its first armed mission, at the start of Operation Enduring Freedom.

That night, the MQ-1 Predator with tail number 3034 under the control of the CIA was on patrol and armed with two Hellfire missiles. This was the same Predator that had been used for the missile tests in Nevada. It was patrolling near Kandahar and the area was under the control of the Taliban. The crew had located Taliban leader Mullah Omar's convoy and requested clearance to engage. This clearance was delayed and Omar entered a structure. It was ultimately decided that 3034 was to strike a Taliban security vehicle nearby as an attempt to flush Omar into the open.

That strike is now said to be the first successful operational use of a precision-guided UAV-delivered weapon. Previously mentioned strikes had involved the UAV carrying a payload into a target and being destroyed on impact, however in this case the Predator had fired a missile and remained airborne.

As of mid-2014, the United States Air Force is training more drone pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined^[7].

In 2014, the British NGO Drone Wars UK, gave written evidence to the British Parliament that stated: "The US and Israel are the only two other countries besides the UK known to have used armed drones." They also stated that whilst 9 airstrikes had been carried out between 2004 and 2007, more than 1,400 UAV airstrikes were carried out between 2009 and 2014^[11].

Drones like the MQ-1 Predator are of course expensive assets, with an MQ-1 "System" (which includes four aircraft, a ground station, and satellite link) in 2009 cost $20 million dollars^[13]. However, as stated above it is possible to self-build simple aerial vehicles that are capable of delivering payloads to targets effectively - and even consumer-level drones such as the DJI Mavic 4 can be converted to carry devices such as grenades for effect. So what is the history for these smaller self-built or consumer drones being used in warfare?

Islamic State in Iraq (2014-2017)

Of course, as soon as these platforms became available they were used both offensively and for surveillance. For example, there is evidence of Islamic State working in 2014 to acquire drones and drone components^[15]. These were initially used for surveillance, however in October 2016 Islamic State killed two Kurdish soldiers in Iraq using a drone. This attack was performed by placing explosives within the drone itself, the Kurdish soldiers then downed the drone and took it back to their base to inspect it - where it exploded whilst being disassembled^[15]. This was said to be the first successful drone attack by Islamic State, although it was not their first attempt; it was also noted that prior to this attack "dozens" of drones had been seen to be used for surveillance in the area^[16].

In January 2017 Islamic State released a propaganda video that showed multiple examples of the group using quadcopter drones that had been modified to drop explosives^[17]. These drones were not used in isolation though, for example in May 2017 General Raymond A Thomas reported that in one 24 hour period during operations in Iraq more than 70 drones had been launched against Iraqi forces; at one point 12 drones were overhead their position^[17]. That said, ultimately the Islamic State's drone capability did not lead to a significant number of deaths, but it did highlight weaknesses in military forces around the world as at the time there was little in the way of counter-measures, other than small arms fire^[17].

At the height of the Islamic State drone attacks, in the spring of 2017, they were performing between 60 and 100 drone attacks per month across Iraq and Syria^[17]. However, these attacks may have only killed a dozen people, but wounded a much larger number. In February 2017, a surgeon in Mosul said they were receiving at least 10 injured persons per day due to drone attacks^[17].

"You can't leave the house without checking the sky every single second and, even if you hear one of the drones, you don't have time to run away because they are so fast." - A resident of Mosul, February 2017^[17]

Nagorno-Karabakh (2020)

Whilst a large number of drone attacks were performed by Islamic State, the use of drone was not decisive within that conflict. Whereas the use of drones was much more important in later conflicts, such as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War of 2020. Although this war only lasted from 27th September to 9th November there was significant use of unmanned combat aerial vehicles^[18].

Flight Lieutenant Chris Whelan summarised this conflict and its relation to the history of drones as: "An armed stalemate which has persisted between two former Soviet states since 1994 was suddenly upended by innovative use of modern military technology. Azerbaijani Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles wrought havoc on Armenian entrenched forces, rolling back a disputed frontier which had stood for over two decades^[18]"

The drones used though, were not consumer-level devices such as the DJI Phantoms used by Islamic State, these were specialist vehicles, such as the Turkish Bayraktar Tactical Block 2 (TB2) and the Israeli Harop loitering munition^[18]. Immediately at the outbreak the Azeris began targeting Armenian air defences, for example by using Antonov AN-2 agricultural biplanes that had been modified as unmanned aerial vehicles. These vehicles caused the Armenian air defence systems to activate which revealed their positions - and then they were taken out by unmanned combat aerial systems and coordinated artillery strikes^[18]. This severely limited the Armenian air defence capabilities as more and more systems were destroyed or otherwise suppressed.

Although the systems used are much more expensive than the consumer drones used by Islamic State, they are still significantly more cost effective than things like the MQ-1 Predator or the later MQ-9B Reaper.

For comparison, the United States sold a package to Australia which included 12 MQ-9B Reapers (as well as engines, ground control stations, training simulators, and various communications equipment to operate the drones), for $1,600,000,000 dollars^[20]. Compared to an agreement with Turkey for Poland to buy six Bayraktar TB2 (and associated weapons, equipment, and training) for only $67,000,000^[21]. These are very expensive pieces of equipment, but in this conflict were shown to be effective.

During the conflict Armenia lost approximately 3,800 soldiers killed in action^[22], whereas Azerbaijan lost approximately 2,750^[23]. However, it is estimated that Armenia lost 255 tanks versus Azerbaijan's 62 lost^[19]. Analysis by the Open Source Intelligence team Oryx shows that of the 147 Armenian tanks for which there is video footage of the destruction, 100 were destroyed by TB2 or loiter munitions, 24 were destroyed by Spike ATGM, and for the remaining 23 it is not known what destroyed them^[24]. This means for the analysed 147 tanks, at least 68% were destroyed by drones. Although this shows drones were certainly effective, it is important to bear in mind the inherent selection bias of this data - as tank destruction by drone is more likely to be recorded on video in comparison to other methods.

By this period, three distinct categories of drone warfare had emerged: high-end remotely piloted systems, loitering munitions, and low-cost improvised or consumer-level drones. All three would see significant use in Ukraine.

Ukraine (2022-)

The use of drones within Ukraine, following the full-scale Russian invasion, is a different beast again. Both sides have made significant use of all kinds of drone platforms from consumer-level DJI Mavics, right up to the platforms the size of the Bayraktar TB2. For example, the Russians have deployed an Orion (Inokhodets) which is a remotely-piloted vehicle with a wingspan of just over 16 meters^[29].

Both sides have innovated in the drone space throughout the conflict and made significant use of self-built FPV strike drones which can be produced for as little as $500 - $1200 dollars depending on the configuration^[31].

The first successful FPV strike in this conflict is claimed by the Ukrainian unit Signum - in June 2022. However, widespread use of electronic warfare and jammers impacted their capability. In Spring of 2024, Russia deployed the first fibre-optic FPV strike drone^[26][27]. We've discussed electronic warfare and jamming in the context of Ukraine extensively in a previous article, so will skip that discussion here.

These drones are distinct from systems such as the Iranian Shahed-136 (or the Russian-manufactured version the Geran-2), which are often preprogrammed with targets and flown significant distances (1000km+), although the latter has seen significant use in Ukraine. Discussing the specifics of the Geran-2 (cost, payload, endurance, sensors) is difficult as there has been a large number of variants. However, the heavy use of these systems by the Russians led to specific counter-measures being developed by the Ukrainians. Notably, the Sting interceptor developed by the Wild Hornets - which was first publicly referenced in October 2024^[28].

Whilst many of the drones utilised earlier in the conflict used commonly available software such as ExpressLRS and Betaflight - in the first half of 2024, Ukrainian engineers forked this software and produced their own modified versions with a military focus: MilELRS and MilBETA^[33].

As drones have been such an important aspect of Ukraine's defence capability, there are of course a range of training courses available for the many different types of systems available - including software simulators, such as the Ukrainian Simulator Obriy, to allow remote pilots to get the basics before graduating into flying real drones^[32].

The number of FPV strike drones deployed in Ukraine is staggering. For example, in December 2025, Denys Shmyhal (the Minister of Defence for Ukraine at that time), stated that Ukraine will have received 3 million FPV drones by the end of 2025 and that this number was 2.5 times higher than in 2024^[34].

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