by James Corbett
The image of mechanized drones filling the skies during the next major war is not a distant, hypothetical threat. Many countries are already developing military drone swarms.
If you were unsettled by the sight of thousands of drones lighting up the skies at the 2023 Dragon Boat Festival in Shenzhen, China, you’re more attuned to the future of warfare than if you found it “beautiful.” The rise of drone warfare is becoming a significant concern for humanity’s future. While robots like Boston Dynamics’ Spot are often showcased, they are still too large, slow, and clumsy for modern combat. Instead, the real threat lies in swarms of small, agile drones, already being weaponized by the military-industrial complex.
Drones have long been used by criminals for illicit activities like harassment and drug smuggling, leading law enforcement to push for more control, including surveillance powers. This creates a cycle of expanding control, and militaries are using similar rhetoric to justify the development of drone armies. The U.S. Navy, for example, is interested in creating swarms of thousands of small drones, while companies like Anduril are racing to build drone swarm technology, eagerly eyeing lucrative military contracts.
The U.S. is not alone in this arms race. China is also advancing its own drone swarms for future conflict. Russia, under attack from Ukrainian drones, has deployed its own swarms to strike Ukraine’s energy grid. Meanwhile, Israel has used drones in its ongoing conflicts with Palestinians and Lebanese forces, and Azerbaijan has employed Turkish-made drones in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, crediting them with destroying billions of dollars in Armenian military assets.
The drone wars of the future aren’t speculative—they’re happening right now. Countries around the world are racing to develop military drone swarms. In a potential World War III scenario, warfare will look nothing like the conflicts of the past. Gone are the days of human-piloted robots on battlefields. Instead, drones, capable of precision strikes and mass destruction, will dominate the skies.
These drone swarms won’t just be tools of large-scale warfare—they could also be used as instruments of terror, spreading fear on a global scale. The use of drone swarms could drastically change how wars are fought, not just in terms of physical battles but also in how psychological manipulation, such as terrorism, shapes public opinion and political power. Terrorism doesn’t only involve physical attacks—it thrives when technology and media combine to manipulate the public into a constant state of fear.
The use of drones to control or oppress populations is already evident in regions like Syria and Ukraine. These systems could be used by powerful governments to suppress dissent and tighten their control. The real threat isn’t just military aggression—it’s the manipulation of fear to justify global power dynamics and further control.
What can we do about this? While conventional firearms might protect us from certain threats, drones render them largely ineffective against governments armed with advanced technology. The answer may lie in developing counter-drone technologies, such as jammers, to defend against military drones. However, escalating the drone war on a personal level won’t solve the broader problem of how dangerous and destructive this technology can be.
Ultimately, we need to understand the implications of drone warfare and begin preparing for a future where these systems dominate the battlefield. Without awareness, we risk being caught off guard when the next war arrives—not on the ground, but in the skies above.
– Adapted from The Corbett Report, this is a short version. The full article is available at www.elreporteroSF.com in the column section.
