"A riveting account of one of the most significant developments in contemporary warfare – the evolution and proliferation of drones. This is a very important book." – General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition and US Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN SANA media in Syria says air defense confronted aerial threats near Jebleh (جبلة) on June 23, just after midnight. https://twitter.com/AlmanarBreaking/status/1275163467096436738 Subsequent articles say the air defense "prevented" a drone attack. Numerous websites reported the battle against drones near Jableh. RT says the same thing. Lebanese media added the following: " For …
Continue reading Syrian air defense says it confronted drones near Jableh
A report at Defense News says that the first NATO surveillance drone, a form of the US Global Hawk known as the RQ-4D Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS), began test flights over the Mediterranean earlier in June. This drone was supposed to be ready years ago, but issue had prevented its delivery and costs were high. Reuters noted …
Continue reading NATO’s new version of the Global Hawk are doing tests over the Med
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN A recent report shows Russia's Altair (Альтаир) drone undergoing tests with munitions mounted on the bird. This drone is one of several in Russia's arsenal. Last year it received some coverage. What is known is that in 2012 after the Georgia war Russia wanted to increase its drone arm and licensed …
Continue reading TV program: Russia’s Altair drone undergoes tests with munitions
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Photos from the Special Operations Joint Task Force of OIR show a "soldier lands a drone that carried a box used as a target during a Smart Shooter sighting device familiarization range near At-Tanf Garrison, Syria, May 30, 2020." The caption goes on to note that "Coalition and partner forces regularly …
Continue reading US soldiers at lonely Tanf base practiced shooting down drones with new system
A look at the US Shadow UAV can be seen in photos from May 2020. The captions note there are several soldiers "all with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Deception Co., 8th Brigade Engineer Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas." they work on the "viability" of the Shadow drone system. It is …
US forces practiced with Raven drones.. Those assigned to the 332d Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, were photographed with a Raven B "Digital Data Link" drone on January 24, 2018. Somewhere in Southwest Asia. "After takeoff, the Raven B uses battery power to patrol the air for 60-90 minutes at a time." It appears a Raven …
Continue reading Raven and other drones you throw into the air
A November 2018 photo shows US forces training with a Puma drone. This type of UAV is small and can be thrown into the air. https://twitter.com/USMC/status/1077911910278823941
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN A photo of US forces during a drill on June 1 shows "U.S. Marine with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 20.2, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, launches a Wasp Unmanned Aircraft System into the air during UAS training in Setermoen, Norway, June 1, 2020. MRF-E conducts various exercises, including arctic cold-weather and mountain-warfare …
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In 2018 in the hot Kuwaiti desert a US soldier launched a quadcopter. A photo of the incident notes that "CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – Staff Sgt. Warren Palmer, master trainer and senior intelligence advisor, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade launches a drone using Instant Eye technology, Mar. …
Continue reading Small tactical drones the US used in Middle East
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve published photos of Scan Eagles being used in Iraq. The caption notes "civilian contractors launch a Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle drone system at Al Asad, Iraq, Mar. 4, 2020. Scan Eagle provides capabilities ranging from intelligence and reconnaissance to surveillance flight capabilities." To …
Drone Wars: The book 