Middle East's drone race and implication of weaponization on the security landscape

Abstract

With the advancements in technological wars, autonomous systems and their impact on the future security infrastructure have increased the defense debate. Lately, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have fascinated experts, engineers, and scholars due to their application in security, lethal military operations, and emergency scenarios, where they can be deployed in hostile environments. The capacity of militarized drones to perform stealth reconnaissance missions and launch precision attacks opens an all-new debate on the future security environment of the Middle East region; hence, this research aims to identify the security benefits as well as the risks of utilizing UAVs, the level at which they have penetrated, and how they have been created controversies over the last decade in the region. The study will also utilize the qualitative research methodology in a cross-sectional approach to analyze and draw conclusions, this paper will try to put into context both strategic benefits and threats to aid future researchers identify implications of UAVs in the targeted region for further study.