"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 Iran's Secretary of Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei (رضائي) has said that Iranian drones flew over US ships during the crises regarding Iran sending four ships to Venezuela to deliver gasoline. Previously it was reported that he said when Iran sent the ships to Venezuela, some said, "Don't go, there will be …
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Iran has celebrated the downing of a US drone a year ago by hosting a "3rd Khordad" celebration where families can pose with the weapons system that shot down the Global Hawk. "On the first anniversary of shooting down the American MQ-4C spy unmanned aircraft, the 3rd of Khordad missile system …
Videos online show small quadcopter (actually six rotor) drones being used to put up a Pride March flag on a famous statue in Kiev. The statue is the well known giant Motherland Monument. https://twitter.com/baraban088/status/1274788479382302721 The surprising turn of events shows how drones can be used in innovative ways but also why security services or state …
Continue reading Drones reportedly used in Kiev (Kyiv) to put up Pride flag
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Turkey's new Hisar Air Defense System could be deployed to Syria, according to accounts online. The system was used earlier in 2020 to counter target drones. Built by Aselsan it fires Roketsan missiles. It went into serial production for the HISAR-A version. It is the first national air defense missile system …
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In April 2020 the US army in northern Iraq's Erbil Air Base conducted a "dronebuster" drill against an unmanned aerial system. The training exercise in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq illustrated how the "dronebuster jams communication between the pilot and the drone which forces the drone to either land or return …
Continue reading A look at US counter-drone ops in Iraq: Background and history
John Bolton's new book discusses Iranian drone proliferation and the downing of the US Global Hawk in 2019
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN CSIS has a new article as part of its Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative that notes "China has deployed a network of sensors and communications capabilities between Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands in the northern South China Sea." The network consists of “Ocean E-Stations” or “floating integrated information platforms” (IIFP) which …
Continue reading China built floating stations for an “unmanned ocean network” that can aid UAVs
Al-khaleej has picked up the National story about Houthi drones: "The growing Houthi threat to the Gulf has been examined by other analysts at RUSI. Justin Bronk, a Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology at the London-based institution, said: 'While it’s low tech – that’s a benefit. If you want to enable your proxies - …
Continue reading Houthi drones: Gulf countries concerned about continued threat
A drone alleged to be from Pakistan was shot down by the Border Security Force, India. Reports claimed on June 20, 2020 that "Pakistani drone shot down by BSF along IB in Jammu and Kashmir carried a highly sophisticated rifle, two magazines, 60 rounds and seven grenades: Officials." The drone with six rotors appeared to …
Continue reading Drone from Pakistan shot down by BSF, India
On June 20 an airstrike, alleged to be a from a drone, was reported in Syria near Al-Bab which is in the areas controlled by Turkey. It his a motorcycle. A thread provides some discussion of what happened, alleging it was carried out against an ISIS member and used the "ninja" missile AGM-114 R9X. https://twitter.com/WithinSyriaBlog/status/1274280728579264513 …
Drone Wars: The book 