Following the renewed outbreak of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, drones became a ubiquitous feature of all coverage of the conflict. The disputed region, claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan, saw the most widespread use of both unarmed and armed drones in inter-state conflict to date. Whilst a deluge of video clips showing drone-captured footage of air and missile strikes on seemingly defenceless ground vehicles led some to proclaim the ‘death of the tank’, this may have been an overestimation of the real impact drones had in the conflict.
In his latest article for the Human Security Centre, IRW’s Jack Davies argues that drones, while highly effective at targeted strikes, did not by themselves decide the outcome of the conflict. Examining the use of drones in Nagorno-Karabkh, including as impressive propaganda-producing tools, Jack argues that the drone clearly has a strong future in conflict, however, states looking on should pause and question whether their drone fleets would be as successful as Azerbaijan’s if faced with a more sophisticated enemy.
Read the article on Human Security Centre‘s website at the link below:
Intimacies of Remote Warfare