Description
Many security studies scholars have been beguiled by the rise of lethal autonomous weapons. They extrapolate from the rapid proliferation of remote uncrewed aerial systems in the last two decades to argue that in the very near future swarms of autonomous drones will dominate the battlefield. This paper questions their presumptions. It draws an analogy with the strategic bombing debates in the 1920s and 1930s, to argue that proponents of drone swarms are guilty of technological determinism. They project the future on the basis of a narrow consideration of the possible technical capabilities of drone swarms, without considering the wider political and operational context.
