The Past, Present, and Future of Drones on the Battlefield

Armed unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones, first gained prominence as a central feature of United States foreign policy and have been responsible for hundreds of counterterrorism strikes. Once restricted largely to the US, drones have become a ubiquitous feature on the battlefield as most state and non-state actors have acquired armed drones. This talk will discuss the role of drones in previous counterterrorism strikes, the current role of drones in Ukraine, and future evolution of drones on the battlefield.

Sarah Kreps is the John L. Wetherill Professor in the Department of Government, Adjunct Professor of Law, and the Director of the Cornell Tech Policy Lab at Cornell University. Her teaching and research focus on the intersection of international politics, technology, and national security. She has written five books, including, most recently, Social Media and International Relations (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Other books include Taxing Wars: The American Way of War Finance and the Decline of Democracy (2018), Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know (2016), Drone Warfare (2014) and Coalitions of Convenience: United States Military Interventions after the Cold War (Oxford 2011). Dr. Kreps is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations (and is a life member), Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, West Point, and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs. Between 1999-2003, she served as an active-duty officer in the United States Air Force.