Non-state actors worldwide are increasingly using drones to strike both state and rival non-state actors. More than 90 percent of these attacks occur in the Middle East and North Africa, where groups such as Hamas and the Houthis have attracted significant attention for their drone capabilities. However, non-state actors in other parts of the world are also developing drones and finding innovative ways of using them in attacks while receiving far less attention. We asked four experts to assess how non-state actors in Asia, Latin America, and Africa are using drones.Richard Horsey Senior Adviser on Myanmar at the International Crisis GroupDrone warfare has reshaped Myanmar’s post-coup conflict. Resistance groups have adapted cheap commercial multirotor drones and craft-produced fixed-wing systems for both reconnaissance and strike missions, giving them an asymmetric edge against the army’s fortified bases and supply lines. This has been a key element in resistance forces’ unprecedented battlefield successes, and the tactics and technology have spread nationwide — making Myanmar the world’s most active drone theater after Ukraine. But the junta is belatedly gaining ground. With Chinese and Russian support, over the last year it has integrated drones more effectively into its operations and deployed countermeasures. This has blunted the rebels’ advantage but not erased it. The result is an escalating cycle of innovation — first-person-view kamikaze drones, fiber-optic tethers, and thermal imaging — preventing either side from achieving drone dominance and making the conflict ever more lethal. Myanmar’s experience highlights the global diffusion of drone warfare and raises risks of cross-border proliferation into South and Southeast Asia.R. Evan Ellis Latin America Research Professor with the U.S. Army War CollegeTransnational criminal groups have increasingly used unmanned systems in Latin America, against the state, each other, and populations. Those uses have included surveillance for border-smuggling operations, surveillance in support of
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Non-state actors worldwide are increasingly using drones to strike both state and rival non-state actors. More than 90 percent of these attacks occur in the Middle East and North Africa, where groups such as Hamas and the Houthis have attracted significant attention for their drone capabilities. However, non-state actors in other parts of the world are also developing drones and finding innovative ways of using them in attacks while receiving far less attention. We asked four experts to assess how non-state actors in Asia, Latin America, and Africa are using drones.Richard Horsey Senior Adviser on Myanmar at the International Crisis
