5 Great Books about Military Drones

Military drones are the subject of a lot of public interest, which is in part due to the rapid pace at which drone technology is advancing, according to the Center for the Study of the Drone. As of the present day, despite many stories to the contrary, there are no truly autonomous combat drones in existence: all combat drones are piloted by humans, who are located remotely, and no weapon is ever fired without a human making the decision to do so. The belief otherwise is part of the widespread misconception about what drones are, and why they are necessary. If you are interested in learning more about the exciting field of drone technology, here are five great books about military drones that may provide you with some useful and accurate information.

1. Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution

Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution was written by Richard Whittle, and was published in 2014, when books about military drones began to appear in abundance. It is an excellent account of the little-known origins behind a widespread military shift to drone technology, which helps to keep human pilots out of danger, and greatly expands the military’s ability to covertly surveil and monitor communications within enemy territory.

2. Drone Wars: Transforming Conflict, Law, and Policy

Drone Wars: Transforming Conflict, Law, and Policy was published by Cambridge University Press, also in 2014. It presents an impressively academic and unbiased look at the nature of modern warfare, as it has been influenced by the introduction and the steadily expanding role of military drones. The book goes beyond the subject of drones and their function, addressing the necessary rethinking of well-established civilian laws and military policies alike, as the nature of unmanned combat aircraft has had widespread humanitarian implications throughout the world.

3. A Theory of the Drone

This book comes highly recommended by Hugh Gusterson, a world-renowned security expert and anthropology professor with a specialty in military policy. Written by the French philosopher Gregoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone takes a hard look at one of the most widely-praised angles of the drone phenomenon: the fact that it doesn’t involve American soldiers coming home in body bags. Among Chamayou’s observations is the comparison of modern drone warfare to an activity more like hunting, given the lack of reciprocal threat to the operators. This kind of observation is present throughout the book, and is taken to a deep and profound level.

4. Sudden Justice

Another of Hugh Gusterson’s recommendations, Sudden Justice was written by investigative journalist Chris Woods. It delves into the history of modern drone warfare, going back to the initial weaponized drone strikes carried out in the Middle East after the events of September 11th, 2001. Before that, the use of surveillance drones goes back to the mid-20th century; crude drones were even used for target practice by the US military during World War II, and Woods definitely makes a point of examining how policy and technical sophistication have evolved along with their expanding usage on the battlefield.

5. Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

This book was written by Medea Benjamin, author of multiple books about US foreign policy, globalism, and American actions in the Middle East, as well as about social programs closer to home. Her book has been hailed as one of the first comprehensive and in-depth studies of the expansion of the US drone warfare program. While not entirely positive, it does a respectable job at being well-sourced and unbiased, and is an excellent choice for someone who wishes their reading material to provide them with a well-rounded and widely informed opinion on the subject.

Related Resource: 5 Careers in Security Management

More Books About Military Drones

If these five books have whetted your appetite to learn more about military drones and drone technology, you might consider checking out Drone News for the top 100 websites relating to unmanned aerial vehicles. As military drone technology gets more sophisticated, and new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence lurk just around the corner, some people are wondering when the first autonomous attack drone will be fielded: Forbes contributor JV Chamary has a few things to say about the possibility of artificial intelligence defeating human combatants independently of any operator.