In November 2001, the USA conducted what is taken into account to be the primary ever armed drone assault in Afghanistan. Over the following twenty years, the USA dominated the manufacturing of huge unmanned techniques that value thousands and thousands of {dollars} every to provide. In a January 2020 strike that showcased its drone dominance, the USA used an MQ-9 Reaper drone to kill Iranian Main Basic Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. 5 years later, this mannequin of drone dominance not exists.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has demonstrated how necessity can gasoline innovation on the battlefield, particularly with its strategy to drone warfare. Ukraine’s fast growth and deployment of latest techniques have enabled it to disrupt standard army knowledge and successfully struggle in opposition to a bigger and better-equipped adversary. Ukraine’s expertise on this battle has been a mix of conventional manpower-intensive trench fight and technological innovation. Nonetheless, it’s this technological innovation that has enabled Ukraine to counter Russia’s benefit in standard army energy. At the moment, Ukrainian drones account for round 70 percent of confirmed Russian casualties.
Militaries, particularly the USA, are taking discover. On July 10, 2025, the Division of Protection (DoD) launched a brand new directive, “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,” designed to rapidly enhance its arsenal of unmanned techniques by shaking up the Division’s procurement system. Innovation on the battlefield produces many advantages but it surely additionally brings challenges, particularly with making certain that these new weapons can be utilized in compliance with the legislation of armed battle (LOAC). This publish will deal with: 1) how innovation via the usage of drones is reshaping the battlefield; 2) how the brand new DoD directive is meant to assist the drone trade and army forces; and three) how the authorized assessment of latest weapons should bear its personal innovation to maintain tempo with these fast adjustments.
Innovation – Use of Drones on the Battlefield
In December 2024, Ukraine released its voluntary report on compliance with LOAC. The report famous that drones “are the true masters of the battlefield in each basic area.” They’ve turn into some of the highly effective instruments in countering Russia’s superior numbers and assets on this battle. One commentator famous that Ukraine now has a “a thriving home drone trade, with contributions from greater than 500 producers and manufacturing figures reaching into the thousands and thousands.” As Dr. Oleksandra Molloy notes in her 2024 report, “Drones in Modern Warfare: Lessons Learnt from the War in Ukraine,” Ukraine has operated greater than “300 completely different fashions” of drones. This potential to mass produce cheap, efficient drones which can be in a position to conduct quite a lot of missions similar to reconnaissance missions, digital warfare, and most significantly, kinetic strikes, has been vital to their success on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s strategy to drone warfare can be altering the way in which militaries take into consideration expertise. As an alternative of specializing in costly, extremely refined techniques (as the USA has finished with its Predator and Reaper unmanned techniques), it has targeted on drones which can be inexpensive and adaptable. These drones, that are constructed from commercially out there elements, value lower than $1,000 and have been used to successfully disable armored autos and disrupt enemy provide traces.
A latest New York Times article reported that Ukrainian officers have made multiple million first individual view drones (FPVs) in 2024. To not be outdone, Russia claims it may now produce 4,000 FPVs a day. Drones have turn into so ubiquitous on the battlefield that it’s not possible to depend the whole variety of drone engagements happening now.
The power to rapidly check and deploy drone options has given Ukraine an edge over Russia’s extra centralized course of, which has not been in a position to adapt as quickly to this altering battlefield actuality. Ukraine has instituted a decentralized strategy to innovation, and it has relied on a mix of troopers, technical consultants, and different volunteers for enter with respect to innovation. The New York Times reported that troopers are rapidly modifying drones to “drop hand grenades and different munitions on advancing enemy troopers.” They’re additionally making use of a variety of explosives to arm the drones. They “repurpose anti-tank weapons and cluster munitions to suit onto drones, or they use anti-personnel fragmentation warheads with different thermobaric expenses to destroy buildings and bunkers.”
A CSIS report famous the “Ukraine battle has upended conventional cost-benefit calculations in army operations. The traditional emphasis on firepower-heavy forces constructed round costly platforms—tanks, warships, and superior plane—is being challenged by the effectiveness of low-cost attritable belongings, notably drones.” Innovation on the battlefield is vital to fight success. However what can be clear is that these technological benefits are momentary, because the opposing facet will rapidly adapt. It has turn into clear that the army that may adapt quicker will keep the higher hand. Ukraine’s benefit on this battle has been its potential to outpace Russia within the innovation cycle. It’s a lesson that the USA, NATO, and our different allies should emulate with a view to keep army readiness within the twenty first century.
Unleashing U.S. Navy Drone Dominance
In June 2025, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 14307, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance.” In July, Secretary Hegseth issued his directive addressed to senior Pentagon management, combatant commanders, and administrators of protection businesses relating to U.S. army drone dominance.
Secretary Hegseth stated that “drones are the most important battlefield innovation in a era, accounting for many of this 12 months’s casualties in Ukraine.” He wrote that whereas “thousands and thousands of low-cost drones” are being produced globally, DoD forces should not being “outfitted with the deadly small drones the trendy battlefield requires” because of pointless purple tape. To counter what’s seen as restrictive bureaucratic processes, he was “unleashing the mixed potential of American manufacturing and warfighter ingenuity.”
In keeping with one report, “[t]he directive requires approving ‘a whole bunch’ of American merchandise for buy by the U.S. army, arming fight models with quite a lot of ‘low-cost drones made by America’s world-leading engineers and AI consultants,’ and extra broadly integrating UAS into coaching workout routines.” It additionally notes that the memorandum units out some key deadlines for Pentagon leaders:
– By September 1: Every service should set up “intentionally screened, active-duty experimental formations purpose-built to allow fast scaling of small UAS throughout the Joint Drive by 2026, prioritizing preliminary fielding to U.S. lndo-Pacific Command models.”
– Inside 30 days: The Workplace of Strategic Capital and Division of Authorities Effectivity will current choices similar to advance buy commitments, direct loans, or different incentives to speed up the expansion of the U.S. industrial base for outfitting fight models with U.S.-made drones. Every army service will set up program workplaces targeted solely on UAS, prioritizing small techniques.
– Inside 60 days: Navy Departments should establish packages that may be cheaper or “deadly” if changed by drones.
– Inside 90 days: The companies should designate a minimum of three nationwide ranges with various terrain for deep UAS coaching.
– January 2026: Switch duty for publication and upkeep of the Blue List of DOD-approved unmanned aerial techniques, elements, and software program from the Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) to the Protection Contract Administration Company. The Blue Record will evolve right into a dynamic digital platform, up to date with licensed elements, person rankings, and vendor data utilizing AI instruments.
– 2027: All main coaching occasions throughout DoD should combine drones.
In keeping with Secretary Hegseth, the aim is to have drone capabilities built-in into “all related fight coaching, together with force-on-force drone wars.” He acknowledged that “[o]ur adversaries have a head begin in small UAS, however we are going to carry out a technological leapfrog and set up small UAS area dominance by the top of 2027.”
This new directive is a vital step if the USA goes to develop the required structure required to ascertain drone dominance. The benefits these unmanned techniques carry are various. They can assist the USA acquire tactical versatility throughout varied varieties of missions, similar to situational consciousness, focusing on and battle harm evaluation, strike operations, digital warfare and communication, and logistical assist.
Though the usage of small unmanned techniques brings vital benefits, additionally they include challenges. The rest of this publish will deal with the problem of how one can incorporate these techniques rapidly whereas nonetheless assembly U.S. obligations to conduct authorized opinions of latest weapons and weapons techniques.
DoD Weapons Overview Course of
The USA isn’t a celebration to Additional Protocol (AP) I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, so there is no such thing as a express treaty obligation to conduct authorized opinions of latest weapons, means, or strategies of warfare. Some commentators be aware that there’s “an applied obligation” to conduct such opinions, as indicated by the apply of sure States previous to the adoption of AP I. The Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross, in its 2006 Guide to the Legal Review of New Weapons, Means and Methods of Warfare, additionally takes the view that the requirement to evaluate the “legality of all new weapons, means and strategies of warfare … is arguably one which applies to all States, no matter whether or not or not they’re get together to Extra Protocol I.” Nonetheless, the DoD’s position is that there is no such thing as a customary worldwide legislation obligation to conduct a weapons assessment as “there may be inadequate state apply and opinio juris… .”
The DoD Law of War Manual reiterates that long-standing U.S. coverage requires a authorized assessment of the meant acquisition of a weapon system to make sure its growth and use are according to LOAC. This coverage predates the adoption of AP I. Every army service has issued rules implementing this coverage. For instance, Army Regulation 27-53 units forth the necessities for authorized opinions of latest weapons. It states that the authorized assessment of the acquisition or procurement of a weapon system ought to happen at an early stage of the acquisition course of to make sure its legality beneath LOAC, home legislation, and worldwide legislation, together with the analysis and growth phases. Regardless that it will be important for the analysis to be finished on the earliest phases of the event or acquisition course of, a last authorized assessment should be carried out previous to the fielding of the weapon system.
Accordingly, whether or not a State conducts a weapon assessment beneath Article 36 of AP I (for States Social gathering to AP I), or as a matter of coverage (similar to the USA), a authorized assessment of a brand new weapon, or “means or methodology of warfare” is a vital part of making certain that such weapons are utilized in compliance with that State’s worldwide authorized obligations.
This course of, which has been in place since 1974, has labored very nicely till now. Nonetheless, simply as battlefield innovation is altering the way in which militaries take into consideration procurement, it is usually time to vary the way in which the DoD conducts weapons opinions of those new capabilities to make sure it’s an enabler of innovation.
Weapons Critiques as an Enabler of Innovation
Ukraine’s success has come from enabling innovation moderately than making an attempt to regulate it, which has helped speed up the fielding of those new applied sciences on the entrance traces. As the USA and different States push to speed up the combination of those new applied sciences, it raises issues and potential authorized points with respect to weapons opinions. Pushing choices to buy and combine these small drones all the way down to decrease ranges may imply that new weapons make it to the battlefield with out present process a assessment to make sure that they can be utilized in accordance with LOAC.
Listed below are two suggestions that the USA should think about to make sure that weapons opinions are seen as enabling moderately than hindering innovation.
Decentralize Weapons Critiques
First, how weapons opinions are carried out should change. At present, opinions are centralized within the Pentagon. A senior lawyer designated by the respective decide advocate basic of the service trying to develop or buy the system conducts the weapons assessment. This should be delegated to evaluate advocates on the tactical and operational stage. Ukraine has demonstrated that troopers on the entrance traces of the battlefield have probably the most intimate data of the issues they face and sometimes have one of the best concepts to unravel them. Troopers in Ukraine, via their use and modification of drones, are rapidly growing options to the complicated issues they face in fight.
It’s unrealistic to remove this functionality from troopers to conduct a centralized assessment course of for brand new weapons. To allow innovation, the weapons assessment course of should modernize. The DoD should develop a course of for authorized opinions to be carried out on the tactical/operational stage, nearer to the entrance traces. This, in fact, needs to be with help from these people liable for conducting the formal assessment course of to make sure consistency within the opinions. Pushing these opinions to authorized advisors at decrease ranges will encourage innovation whereas making certain that weapons which can be fielded adjust to a State’s authorized obligations beneath LOAC.
Guarantee an Acceptable Process for Weapons Modifications
Second, the U.S. army should guarantee an applicable process for weapons modifications. Battlefield innovation signifies that, both because of a change in circumstance (similar to acceptance of a brand new treaty obligation or change in coverage), or extra possible, a modification to a selected weapons system, a brand new authorized assessment should be carried out. Accordingly, the DoD might want to guarantee there’s a course of in place to conduct subsequent opinions.
As mentioned above, drone expertise is altering at a fast tempo, with various kinds of munitions being added and new targets being engaged. It’s incumbent to assessment these modified weapons to make sure that they adjust to the State’s authorized obligations beneath LOAC. I’m not suggesting that each change to a weapon requires a brand new assessment, but when there’s a vital change within the weapon, the reviewer ought to think about whether or not a brand new assessment could also be required.
Conclusion
The Ukraine battle with Russia has supplied many classes for the USA, NATO, and our allies. Future conflicts will rely closely on the usage of rising expertise similar to drones and the development of autonomous techniques. Innovation on the battlefield will possible enhance in a future battle, and these weapons should adjust to a State’s LOAC obligations. The authorized assessment of latest weapons should additionally change to maintain up with the fast developments on the battlefield to stay related and never be seen as a hindrance.
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Michael W. Meier is at present an adjunct professor at Georgetown College Legislation Middle (GULC) and an Affiliate Fellow on the Geneva Centre for Safety Coverage.
The views expressed are these of the writer, and don’t essentially replicate the official place of the USA Navy Academy, Division of the Military, or Division of Protection.
Articles of Conflict is a discussion board for professionals to share opinions and domesticate concepts. Articles of Conflict doesn’t display articles to suit a specific editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate materials that’s printed. Authorship doesn’t point out affiliation with Articles of Conflict, the Lieber Institute, or the USA Navy Academy West Level.
Picture credit score: U.S. Air Drive, Airman 1st Class Jordaan Kvale
