The unmanned revolution: how drones are revolutionising warfare

Thesis

Are drones revolutionary? Reading about military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or ‘drones’, one could be led to believe that drones are a revolutionary technology, set to fundamentally change warfare. Their fast proliferation, the association with Science Fiction, combined with the secrecy that surrounds drone use has led many to conclude that the ‘Unmanned Revolution’ is upon us.

This thesis studies the Unmanned Revolution. It develops a framework based on the concept of the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ and applies it to the study of three countries’ drone uses and integration into their armed forces. It furthermore explores the role that the designation as revolutionary has played for the integration and use of UAVs in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

It shows that drones have proven their worth in military operations and compares the three countries’ experiences. This thesis’ detailed assessment of how the different countries have adopted drones and what implication this adoption has had, makes it a work of reference, in particular with regard to the German and British case studies.

Assessing five types of changes – operational, doctrinal, strategic, organisational, and social and societal – this thesis argues that the most fundamental, and possibly revolutionary, change caused by military drones is social, namely, the fundamentally changed experience of war by combatants. In addition, it highlights country-specific changes.

It concludes that the designation of drones as revolutionary has had an important impact in one country, Germany, although in the opposite way than initially expected. Namely, the intense debate around UAVs has hindered drone procurement and doctrinal thinking. In the other two countries, the Unmanned Revolution narrative was less prevalent and hence less influential.

As drones are proliferating globally, I hope my thesis can be of use to policy-makers, military decision-makers as well as researchers worldwide.

Authors: Franke, U

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; Technology and Warfare; British Armed Forces; Bundeswehr; Military Technology; Revolution in Military Affairs; Drones
• Subjects: International relations; Strategic Studies; Military Innovation; Revolution in military affairs; Drone aircraft