The Usage of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Enemy Destruction During Armed Conflicts in THE Late XX and First Quarter of XXI Centuries
Abstract
Purpose. To analyze experience in employing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as instruments of firepower against adversaries from the late twentieth century to the first quarter of the twenty-first century, and to identify principal forms and methods of operational use.
Method. Analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, and historical approaches (historical-genetic; problem-chronological).
Findings. The study traces UAS genesis and evolution, classifies main forms and methods for striking targets, and identifies development trends, strengths and weaknesses.
Theoretical implications. The research clarifies key factors shaping UAS employment, refines definitions of certain operational forms, and records the emergence of a new military art and branch — the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — which gained practical importance during resistance to large-scale Russian aggression; it highlights the tension between increasing UAS autonomy and ethical and legal limits on permitting machines to make lethal decisions.
Practical implications. Results are applicable in curricula for higher military education and for refining doctrinal documents governing the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Originality. On a broad historiographical basis, the authors systematically analyse combat experience of UAS employment. Limitations — reliance on open sources; further research should examine full-spectrum UAS tasking and counter-UAS methods.
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