Armed UAVs are rapidly spreading to more States, and future systems are likely to be more survivable. In part because user States have not to date been uniformly transparent, the use of armed UAVs could contribute inadvertently to conflict escalation, particularly in already complex and unstable strategic environments, and in ways that policymakers do not yet seem to have considered. This briefing paper explores these challenges and suggests it would be desirable for States to develop some common understandings to form the basis for appropriate standards and best practices to reduce risks and inform crisis management processes.

This report was written by George Woodhams and John Borrie at UNIDIR, and can be downloaded by clicking the button to the right.