17 The Islamic State Drone Program
-
Emil Archambault
Abstract
This chapter provides a survey of IS’s drone program, how it came to embody this most salient menace, and how IS innovated in its use of drones. To this end, we outline how IS built structures to centralize drone development and modification, as well as how they used them for attacks, to film and direct other operations, and for reconnaissance. Finally, we argue that IS’s innovation lay mainly in its use of drones for propaganda, rather than in the oft-cited threats of terrorist attacks or weapons of mass destruction deployment. The first part of this chapter presents how IS built a highly centralized drone program with established structures for training, acquisition, and modification. The second section analyses IS’s different use of drones and how the group used drones for offensive operations and to command and control other types of attacks, notably artillery and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. The third section argues that IS employed drone imagery in propaganda to further its claim to effective sovereignty and control of its territory. The final two sections analyze the importance of the IS drone program for wider studies, notably of the threat of dissemination of knowledge about non-state drone use. Ultimately, we argue, the IS drone program represents one of many pathways of non-state drone development.
Abstract
This chapter provides a survey of IS’s drone program, how it came to embody this most salient menace, and how IS innovated in its use of drones. To this end, we outline how IS built structures to centralize drone development and modification, as well as how they used them for attacks, to film and direct other operations, and for reconnaissance. Finally, we argue that IS’s innovation lay mainly in its use of drones for propaganda, rather than in the oft-cited threats of terrorist attacks or weapons of mass destruction deployment. The first part of this chapter presents how IS built a highly centralized drone program with established structures for training, acquisition, and modification. The second section analyses IS’s different use of drones and how the group used drones for offensive operations and to command and control other types of attacks, notably artillery and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. The third section argues that IS employed drone imagery in propaganda to further its claim to effective sovereignty and control of its territory. The final two sections analyze the importance of the IS drone program for wider studies, notably of the threat of dissemination of knowledge about non-state drone use. Ultimately, we argue, the IS drone program represents one of many pathways of non-state drone development.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 Introduction: Why Study Drones? 1
-
Part 1: Approaches to the Study of Drone Warfare
- 2 What Is Drone Warfare? 9
- 3 Defining Drones 25
- 4 Drones and International Law 41
- 5 Drone Imaginaries 57
- 6 A Gendering of Drones 69
- 7 Critiquing Drone Warfare 87
-
Part 2: The First Drone Age
- 8 What Is ‘The First Drone Age’? 107
- 9 Drone Pilots: The Struggles of War by Remote Control 111
- 10 The Post-9/11 Era: Drones and Just War Theory 125
- 11 The CIA Drone Program 141
- 12 Drones and Civilian Harm 159
- 13 Drone Warfare and Public Opinion 177
- 14 Living Under Drones 197
- 15 The Media and Drone Warfare 215
-
Part 3: The Second Drone Age
- 16 What is ‘The Second Drone Age’? 237
- 17 The Islamic State Drone Program 243
- 18 The Use of Drones in West Africa and the Sahel 255
- 19 China’s Drone Diplomacy 267
- 20 Russian Military Drones: Established and Emerging Technologies in Ukraine 285
- 21 Europe’s Military Drone Problem 299
- 22 Violent Nonstate Exploitation of Commercial Drones 313
- 23 Game-Changing Drones? The Record from Libya to Ukraine 325
-
Part 4: A Third Drone Age? Concerns and Visions for the Future
-
Concerns
- 24 Domestic Drones and Domestic Threat: Urban Life in the Drone Age 343
- 25 Autonomous Drones 369
- 26 Swarming Drones 385
- 27 Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems 399
-
Visions
- 28 The Diffusion of Drone Warfare – A Ten Year Review 421
- 29 Drones: A Unique Danger to International Law 437
- 30 Drone Proliferation and IR Theory: Visions for the Future 453
- Contributors to this Volume 475
- Index 485
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 Introduction: Why Study Drones? 1
-
Part 1: Approaches to the Study of Drone Warfare
- 2 What Is Drone Warfare? 9
- 3 Defining Drones 25
- 4 Drones and International Law 41
- 5 Drone Imaginaries 57
- 6 A Gendering of Drones 69
- 7 Critiquing Drone Warfare 87
-
Part 2: The First Drone Age
- 8 What Is ‘The First Drone Age’? 107
- 9 Drone Pilots: The Struggles of War by Remote Control 111
- 10 The Post-9/11 Era: Drones and Just War Theory 125
- 11 The CIA Drone Program 141
- 12 Drones and Civilian Harm 159
- 13 Drone Warfare and Public Opinion 177
- 14 Living Under Drones 197
- 15 The Media and Drone Warfare 215
-
Part 3: The Second Drone Age
- 16 What is ‘The Second Drone Age’? 237
- 17 The Islamic State Drone Program 243
- 18 The Use of Drones in West Africa and the Sahel 255
- 19 China’s Drone Diplomacy 267
- 20 Russian Military Drones: Established and Emerging Technologies in Ukraine 285
- 21 Europe’s Military Drone Problem 299
- 22 Violent Nonstate Exploitation of Commercial Drones 313
- 23 Game-Changing Drones? The Record from Libya to Ukraine 325
-
Part 4: A Third Drone Age? Concerns and Visions for the Future
-
Concerns
- 24 Domestic Drones and Domestic Threat: Urban Life in the Drone Age 343
- 25 Autonomous Drones 369
- 26 Swarming Drones 385
- 27 Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems 399
-
Visions
- 28 The Diffusion of Drone Warfare – A Ten Year Review 421
- 29 Drones: A Unique Danger to International Law 437
- 30 Drone Proliferation and IR Theory: Visions for the Future 453
- Contributors to this Volume 475
- Index 485
