Russia has been working on creating drones that ‘call home’, go undercover and start fires. Here’s how they work

To upgrade its drones, Moscow has been adding SIM cards to transmit data back to Russia and updating anti-detection methods.

Marcel Plichta, PhD Candidate in the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews • conversation
June 4, 2025 ~7 min

Ukraine drone strikes on Russian airbase reveal any country is vulnerable to the same kind of attack

The audacious attack exploited holes that exist in everyone’s airspace management.

Michael A. Lewis, Professor of Operations and Supply Management, University of Bath • conversation
June 2, 2025 ~8 min


AI-controlled fighter jets may be closer than we think — and would change the face of warfare

The US military is already using AI to control aircraft in tests.

Arun Dawson, PhD Candidate, Department of War Studies, King's College London • conversation
April 17, 2025 ~7 min

Listening for the right radio signals could be an effective way to track small drones

Tracking small, uncrewed aircraft – also known as drones – is difficult, especially at night. Detecting the radio signals used to control them is a promising approach, though it’s no silver bullet.

Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Dec. 17, 2024 ~7 min

Drones could revolutionise the construction industry, supporting a new UK housing boom

Drones could carry out safety inspections more safely and ferry materials between floors.

Peter Winter, Senior Research Associate, Science and Technology Studies, University of Bristol • conversation
July 18, 2024 ~7 min

We’re using drones to map the temperatures of lizards and this could boost reptile conservation

New research documents how drones were used to track the temperatures of the Bay Islands anole lizard on the Honduran island of Utila.

Emma Higgins, Lecturer in Ecology, University of South Wales • conversation
June 20, 2024 ~6 min

Searching for a female partner for the world’s ‘loneliest’ plant

The plant has been propagated worldwide, but every surviving specimen of Encephalartos woodii is a male clone – and without a female, natural reproduction is impossible.

Laura Cinti, Research Fellow in bio art & plant behaviour, University of Southampton • conversation
June 13, 2024 ~7 min

US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows

The use of drone strikes raises a host of ethical issues. US military chaplains − the armed forces’ moral conscience − have questions.

Keith L. Carter, Associate Professor of Political Science, US Naval War College • conversation
May 8, 2024 ~9 min


Cult of the drone: At the two-year mark, UAVs have changed the face of war in Ukraine – but not outcomes

Drones have dominated images of the war in Ukraine, but an expert on drone warfare casts doubt on many of the grand claims made for the weapons.

Paul Lushenko, Assistant Professor and Director of Special Operations, US Army War College • conversation
Feb. 16, 2024 ~11 min

Drone-zapping laser weapons now effective (and cheap) reality

Operating the DragonFire laser system for ten seconds costs the equivalent of using a heater for an hour (less than £10 per shot).

Gianluca Sarri, Professor at the School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast • conversation
Jan. 22, 2024 ~6 min

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