Authors
Yoel Bergman
Journal
ICON, Volume 31, Issue 1 (2026)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.11590/icon.2026.1.01
Abstract
The use of drones for military surveillance in the Vietnam War is regarded as the first appearance of modern combat drones. By the 1980s, killer-hunter (“loitering”) drones had been introduced and were used by the US against militants following 9/11. Their deployment led to casualties among civilians. In an attempt to reduce casualties, a civilian request was filed in a US court in 2010 seeking greater transparency, which led to restrictions on drone use, but not to a substantial ban. The limited success can be better understood through Thomas Hughes’s model of technological progress in systems that affect the greater public: The public can influence development, yet it can do little in the final “momentum” phase, where systems become necessary to their stakeholders. Drones were found necessary for the current increasingly static, long-range aerial wars even before 9/11, after which protests became prominent. The more traditional and less precise weapons, such as napalm and cluster bombs, were perceived as less indispensable, as they were used in closer encounters. Many governments pledged to limit their use in response to civilian casualties and public protests.