INCREASING DRONES’ COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS: AN ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS FOR INTEGRATION INTO COMPREHENSIVE MILITARY AND TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

While the use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in both international military operations and internal security operations has been increasing in recent years, debates on the role of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in the international relations literature remain limited. While some experts consider armed unmanned aerial vehicle technology as a groundbreaking or game-changing development, others argue that the impact of this technological development is limited. This study presents an alternative assessment and new suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in conflict zones without positioning this study on any side of the ongoing debate in the literature. This study argues that armed drones should be supported by skilled military experts and modern military and electronic systems in order to make them more effective in conflicts. In order to test the accuracy of this hypothesis, this study examines Türkiye’s intervention in the Libyan Civil War, Türkiye’s Operation Spring Shield in Syria’s Idlib province, and Türkiye’s cooperation with Azerbaijan in the 44-day Patriotic War as case studies. Ultimately, the case studies uphold the hypothesis that the deployment of skilled military experts and modern military and electronic systems to support drones in combat increases their effectiveness.