Drone wars

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that he wants more “drones” and more Special Forces in the defence review which is being carried out at the moment. And you can clearly see why. Last month two British members of the terror group Islamic State were killed by a Royal Air Force drone strike in Syria. It is known that British special forces have been on the ground in Syria for some time and many believe that they were involved in the operation. So Cameron has shown his cards. Royal Air Force “Reaper” drones, controlled from RAF Waddington, have rapidly become a major force in the British arsenal. And you can see why. The Reaper drones are relatively inexpensive, do not have a pilot and can almost strike at will. They were used successfully in Afghanistan and now in Syria. Are we seeing a vision of the new Royal Air Force? Probably so. Unmanned aircraft will continue to grow in importance and it has been suggested that the Typhoon fighter plane will be the last manned RAF fighter aircraft. The Royal Air Force has a fleet of 10 Reaper drones and are armed with the lethal Hellfire missiles. A small number are based in the Gulf but controlled from a base in Britain. They were deployed to the region after British forces pulled out of Afghanistan. The defence review which is underway will give additional funds for more drones and it is rumoured that Britain could even order “maritime drones” to protect the British coastline.