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This project successfully funded on 11th July 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Help Stop The Drone Wars Now!
Shaftesbury, , United Kingdom
Aim: As Drone Wars marks its 15th birthday, the spread of military drones around the globe is causing severe harm. Help us stop Drone Warfare!
From Glasgow to Gaza, from Salisbury Plain to Sudan - we are seeing a huge rise in the number of corporations and states developing armed drones, and the awful civilian harm arising from their use.
Over the past 15 years, our small team at Drone Wars UK has worked hard to raise awareness and understanding of the devastating impact of the increasing use of drones and other emerging military technology. But more than that, Drone Wars has also directly challenged, through carefully compiled evidence, those who insist that the use of such technology makes the UK and the world a safer place.
For 15 years we have:
- Been a regular presence in the national media, challenging the notion that high-tech warfare makes us safe;
- Doggedly used FoI processes to undercover details the government would rather not reveal (such as British drones firing thermobaric weapons);
- Detailed the rising civilian harm from the use of drones by Israel, Turkey, the US, Ethiopia and other States in Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
- Organised regular protests at RAF Waddington and other military bases from where drones are being operated;
- Spoke at hundreds of local public meetings, informing thousands of people about the harmful impact of high-tech warfare;
- Published in-depth, accessible reports setting out the ways in which the UK and other states are planning future warfare including the use of hypersonic weapons, human augmentation and autonomous weapons.
Fifteen Years of Campaigning - But So Much More To Do!
Of real concern now is the way that drones are being combined with AI to develop lethal autonomous weapons. Armed drones are the gateway to the development of ‘killer robots’. We are proud to be a founding member of the International Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, and while moves towards a global treaty on this is being resisted by many powerful states, progress is slowly being made.
In 2021, recognising that today’s wars increasingly rely on space-based systems, we also began work to challenge the increasing militarisation of space by the UK as well as other states and corporations. Space Watch UK, our programme to highlight the environmental and security consequences of military space programmes is now demanding more and more of our time.
As we mark our 15th birthday we see only more evidence that drones are causing severe harm around the globe. At the same time, the UK is ramping up funding for drone and high-tech warfare: so we need your support more than ever!
Over the past few months we have seen the government commit to increase funding for the military use of drones and emerging technology for warfare by, amongst other things, cutting the UK's Aid Budget. The government argues that the UK is facing grave threats and drones are a cost-effective way to keep the UK safe.
But far from aiding security, increased spending on drones and other new military technology simply leads to increased insecurity. Remote and autonomous military systems lower the threshold for the use of armed force, making it much easier for state and non-state groups alike to engage in armed attack. Such systems encourage war as the first rather than the last option. And so we are seeing around the globe the increasing use of armed drones and the real, awful harm caused on the ground.
Please Donate to Support Our Work
As we mark our 15th year, all three areas of our work - the harm caused by the proliferation of military drones, challenging the development of autonomous weapons, and the increasing militarisation of space - needs more and more attention, while our resources are spread thinner and thinner.
We have set a target of £5,000 to help us make a real impact as the government ramps up support for drone warfare. All donations large and small will directly help challenge high tech warfare.
Thank you.
The Drone Wars Team.