United States Air Force

Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies 10 Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

Major Richard A. Hersack, USAF

Future Warfare Series No. 10

The Anthrax Vaccine Debate:

A Medical Review for Commanders

20

Randall J. Larsen and Patrick D. Ellis

Future Warfare Series No. 20

Defending the American Homeland

1993-2003

30

Tanja M. Korpi and Christopher Hemmer

Future Warfare Series No. 30

Avoiding Panic and Keeping the

Ports Open in a Chemical and

Biological Threat Environment

A Literature Review

40

Lieutenant Colonel Fred P. Stone, USAF

Future Warfare Series No. 40

The “Worried Well” Response

to CBRN Events:

Analysis and Solu�ons

60

Zachary Kallenborn

Future Warfare Series No. 60

Are Drone Swarms

Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Are Drone Swarms

Weapons of Mass Destruction?

by

Zachary Kallenborn

The Counterproliferation Papers

Future Warfare Series No. 60

May 6, 2020

U.S. Air Force Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies

Air University

Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama 36112

i

Table of Contents

Chapter Page

Disclaimer.................................................................................... ii

Abstract......................................................................................iii

Chapter 1. Introduction.....................................................................1

Chapter 2. Are Drone Swarms WMD?..................................................9

Chapter 3. The Question of Autonomy.................................................15

Chapter 4. Drone Swarms in WMD Roles...................................................19

Chapter 5. Conclusion........................................................................27
ii

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this academic research paper are those of the

individual authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United

States government, the Department of Defense, or Air University. In accordance

with Air Force Instruction 51-303, it is not copyrighted, but is the property of the

United States government.
iii

Abstract

Public discussion has raised significant fears over armed drone swarms 

being used in a manner like weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). However, 

should they be considered WMDs? The first half of the article explores the question

of comparing drone swarms to various conceptions of WMD. Overall, it finds that 

a subset of drone swarms, armed fully autonomous drone swarms (AFADS), are

WMD. The second half examines the potential of drone swarms to serve in 

traditional WMD roles. Although drone swarms could be effective mass casualty 

weapons, they are likely to be a poor strategic deterrent. Drone swarms could be a 

useful anti-access/area-denial or assassination weapon in some contexts. The study 

has broad conceptual, legal, and policy implications. If drone swarms are WMD, 

then various international treaties apply, their use may justify military intervention 

in conflict, and new nonproliferation treaties should be developed.

Zachary Kallenborn is a senior consultant at ABS Group specializing in 

unmanned systems (swarms), WMD terrorism, and WMD warfare writ large. His 

research has been published in the Nonproliferation Review, Studies in Conflict and 

Terrorism, Defense One, War on the Rocks, and other outlets. This article 

represents the personal views of the author and do not necessarily represent the 

views of any current or past employer or funder.

The author is grateful to Philipp C. Bleek, Tony Barrett, Andrew Ross, 

Stuart Russell, and Russell Vane for providing invaluable feedback. Any errors are 

the author’s own. 

Drone Swarms

1

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

In 2017, the Future of Life Institute released Slaughterbots, a video 

depicting a theoretical drone swarm attack.1 The swarm of microdrones was 

equipped with small charges and used facial recognition to seek out and strike 

targets. The video quickly went viral, receiving coverage from The Economist, Fox 

News, CNN, the BBC, and other major outlets.2 By the end of 2018, the video 

received more than 70 million views across multiple social media platforms.3 As 

Dr. Stuart Russell, the creator, describes, “What we were trying to show was the 

property of autonomous weapons [to] turn into weapons of mass destruction 

automatically because you can launch as many as you want.”4

Slaughterbots technology is not theoretical. Numerous states are interested 

in drone swarms and the technology has advanced rapidly.5In January 2017, the 

U.S. Department of Defense tested a swarm of 103 unarmed microdrones that 

collectively and autonomously made decisions.6 China and Russia are also pursuing 

drone swarm technology. China appears to have recently displayed a thousanddrone swarm during an air show.7

The low-cost and distributed nature of drone swarming technology enables 

its rapid growth. In 2013, Timothy Chung identified 13 test beds, primarily run by 

universities, experimenting with drone swarm technology.8 Numerous others have 

been established since then. The barriers to developing swarming technology are 

sufficiently low that engineering students at the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology (MIT) developed some of the first drone swarms.9

So, is Dr. Russell correct? Should these drone swarms be considered WMD? 

Defining a Drone Swarm10

Exactly what are drone swarms? Drone swarms consist of multiple 

unmanned platforms and/or weapons deployed to accomplish a shared objective. 

The platforms and/or weapons autonomously alter their behavior based on 

communication with one another.11 The interconnectivity of drone swarms enables 

them to exhibit more complex behaviors than their component drones. For example, 

during the 2018 Olympics, a thousand drones arranged themselves in complex, 

highly precise formations to create moving images of the Olympic rings, a flying 

dove, and a snowboarder.12 Autonomy potentially enables highly sophisticated 

behaviors, such as self-healing, where a swarm adjusts its behavior in response to 

the loss of individual units.13
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2

Drone swarms could involve novel platforms capable of launching attacks 

or existing weapon systems modified to allow communication and autonomous 

action. Drones within the swarm might be in close physical proximity or separated 

by miles. If the drones are deployed to accomplish the same objective and 

autonomously share information affecting their actions, they are part of a single 

swarm.

The number of drones possible within a swarm and their capacity to execute 

complex missions continue to grow.14 Because drones involve proven, albeit 

evolving, technologies, the primary limitation on swarm size is the capacity to 

manage information exchanges between ever more drones. With computing power 

continuing to grow over the coming years, capacity to manage that information will 

likely continue to grow as well.15 Further, energy-density research continues to 

increase the payload capacity and flight endurance of unmanned platforms.16

A drone swarm could consist of many drones of similar or identical size and 

capability or a heterogeneous mixture of platforms with different weapons and 

sensors.17 Current drone swarms are typically designed as sensor platforms, 

conducting coordinated area surveillance.18 These swarms are typically composed 

of small drones with limited range. However, as the technology matures, it will 

become increasingly viable to incorporate larger, more complex platforms able to 

carry weapon systems over large distances.19 As the drone swarms and component 

drones increase in sophistication (better control algorithms, larger payloads, 

improved range and persistence), production costs are likely to increase as well 

owing to increased system complexity. Higher costs may mitigate some of the 

strategic value that drone swarms offer.

Role differentiation within heterogeneous swarms offers distinct 

advantages. Attack drones carry weapons payloads. Sensing drones carry sensors 

to identify and track potential targets or threats. Communications drones ensure 

stable communication links within the swarm and between the command system. 

Dummy drones may absorb incoming adversary fire, generate false signatures, or 

simply make the swarm appear larger.

The composition of a heterogeneous swarm could be modified to meet the 

needs of a particular mission or operational environment. The capability to swap in 

new drones has been demonstrated on a small scale.20 In the future, providing a 

drone swarm to an operational commander could be akin to supplying a box of 

Legos. “Here are your component parts. Assemble them into what you need.”

Role differentiation may also enable more complex behaviors. Sensing 

drones may be smaller and lighter than attack drones, enabling them to conduct 

reconnaissance ahead of the main swarm. Software architecture has been developed 

to coordinate teams of multi-mission unmanned aerial vehicles, including 

integrated intelligence and strike functions, weapon selection, and route planning 

based on identified adversary air defenses. (See Figure 1).21
Drone Swarms

3

Figure 1 Information flows in different drone types.

There is a significant distinction between drone swarms and drones en 

masse. Drones en masse is the use of multiple drones without autonomous 

communication between the drones. Rather, one or more human decision makers 

coordinate all their actions, either in real time or in advance via preprogrammed 

behaviors. This distinction is significant for three reasons. First, the limits of human 

cognition are likely to limit the size, complexity, and behaviors of drone swarms 

generally, and they are exacerbated significantly with drones en masse. As Amy 

Hocraffer and Chang S. Nam note, “[Aerial drone] swarms pose several human 

factors challenges, such as high cognitive demands, nonintuitive behavior, and 

serious consequences for errors.”22 They also find that the level of autonomy of the 

swarm is the main factor in whether the human controller is a strength or weakness 

for management of large drone swarms.23 While drone swarms have at least limited 

autonomy to limit the cognitive demands, that does not necessarily apply to drones 

operated en masse.

Second, drones en masse, unlike drone swarms, will not be vulnerable to 

countermeasures that seek to disrupt inter-drone communication or exploit 

weaknesses in control algorithms. Drones en masse will still be vulnerable to 

disrupting connections between the drones and the operator, though this 

communication may use different frequencies or different types of communication 

methods than inter-swarm communication. Although a central hub to collect and

disperse data could limit this risk, the use of a central hub would likely impose 

range and responsiveness costs and create a vulnerable target to disrupt the drone 
Kallenborn

4

swarm. Third, drone swarms will incorporate additional technological complexity 

over drones en masse. While commercial off-the-shelf or do-it-yourself drones can 

easily be used en masse, enabling them to communicate and alter behavior 

autonomously is a significant technical challenge. This challenge is likely to be 

particularly acute for non-state actors, who are likely to have more limited 

capabilities.

Drone swarms are also distinct from swarming as a tactic. John Arquilla and 

David Ronfeldt define tactical swarming as “seemingly amorphous, but it is a 

deliberately structured, coordinated, strategic way to strike from all directions at a 

particular point or points, by means of a sustainable pulsing of force and/or fire, 

close-in as well as from standoff positions.”

24 Given the rich history and apparent 

importance of swarming as a tactic, it is striking that the literature on it appears to 

be rather limited. Swarming has been employed as a tactic throughout history, long 

before contemporary development of unmanned systems. For example, during the 

12th and 13th centuries, Mongols “combined the mobility of the horse with the 

rapid, long-range fire of their horn bows to create an imposing ability to swarm 

either fire or forces.”

25

Drone swarms are highly suited to employing swarming tactics, but do not 

necessarily need to do so. Members of a drone swarm rapidly share information 

and coordinate their actions, enabling them to attack from all directions. The ability 

of drones within a swarm to act either individually or collectively also enables 

drones to concentrate or disperse as needed.

Armed, Fully Autonomous Drone Swarms

Overall, a subset of drone swarms – armed, fully autonomous drone swarms 

(AFADS) – qualify as WMD because of both their potential to cause mass 

casualties and inability to adequately distinguish between civilian and military 

targets. Although drone swarms do not need to be fully autonomous, the difficulty 

of operating a truly massive swarm is likely to require autonomous movement and 

targeting. Further, because AFADS are a subset of lethal autonomous weapon 

systems (LAWS) writ large, this conclusion also implies any LAWS capable of 

mass casualty could qualify as a WMD.

Drone swarms can also serve in traditional WMD roles. They would be 

highly effective as mass casualty weapons, especially against soft targets. They 

could also be strategic deterrent weapons, though the variety of defenses means 

nuclear weapons are likely to continue to be more reliable deterrents. Drone swarms 

could be effective in assassination attempts due to the ability to overwhelm 

defenses. However, the lack of stealth means they are likely to only appeal to actors 

unconcerned with (or desire) their role being known. In some circumstances, drone 

swarms could function as anti-access, area-denial (A2/AD) weapons.

Two other studies have touched on these issues. They are Jeremy Straub’s

“Analysis of Mutually Assured Destruction-Like Scenario with Swarms of NonRecallable Autonomous Drones” and Zachary Kallenborn’s and Philipp C. Bleek’s

“Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, 

and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons.”26 Straub’s article considers a few potential 
Drone Swarms

5

scenarios where non-recallable autonomous drone swarms could be used in a 

WMD-like manner. However, he does not engage with the theoretical literature on 

WMD and what it means for a weapon to be categorized as WMD. Although 

Kallenborn and Bleek examine numerous WMD-relevant applications of drone 

swarms, they devote no analysis to whether drone swarms could be categorized as 

WMD and only briefly examine the ability of drone swarms to serve in WMD 

roles.27

The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. First, the paper explains 

why WMD categorization is significant and the major challenge in categorizing 

novel weapon systems. Then it explores whether drone swarms could be 

categorized as WMD based on general rationales for separating WMD from 

conventional weapons. Next, it examines the question of full autonomy and whether 

states will ever develop AFADS. Finally, the article concludes with an analysis of 

whether drone swarms can serve in WMD roles. 

Why WMD Categorization Matters

Categorizing drone swarms as WMD has important theoretical, legal, and 

policy implications. Theoretically, an understanding of whether drone swarms 

constitute WMD is tied deeply to the conceptual problem of understanding WMD 

generally. Drone swarms share some commonalities with traditional WMD, such 

as their ability to inflict largescale death and destruction against civilian 

populations. However, drone swarms do not incorporate non-kinetic means of 

actions, such as disease or asphyxiation. Unlike other conventional weapons, drone 

swarms may be inherently indiscriminate between civilian and military targets. 

Legally, the categorization of drone swarms as WMD affects the 

applicability of certain international laws. Three international treaties ban certain 

uses of WMD without defining WMD.28 The Seabed Treaty prohibits “nuclear 

weapons and other weapons of mass destruction” from being placed on the “seabed and the ocean floor, and in the subsoil thereof.”

29 That could pose a challenge 

for undersea drone swarms that may station on or utilize the seabed.30 Similarly, 

the Outer Space Treaty prevents signatories from placing “nuclear weapons and 

other weapons of mass destruction” on the moon and other celestial bodies.31 The 

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) reiterates these commitments and 

expands the Outer Space Treaty’s scope to include fractions of Earth’s orbit.32

Drone swarms, like other robotic systems, could be quite useful in this domain as 

they do not require costly life-sustainment equipment.33If drone swarms are WMD, 

these treaties apply. If they are not, the treaties do not apply to them.

Categorization also may impact international treaty policies. The nascent 

movement to ban LAWS would necessarily cover armed, autonomous drone 

swarms.34 Alternatively, categorization could justify the development of new arms 

control treaties because arms treaties are traditionally an important component of 

WMD non-proliferation. At minimum, this categorization would justify further 

analysis and study to understand the global security implications of proliferation.

In addition, categorization could affect policy calculations on interventions 

in conflicts in which drone swarms carry out military strikes, especially against
Kallenborn

6

civilian targets. In recent history, the use of WMD has drastically altered 

considerations on conflict intervention. In 2012, President Barack Obama issued a 

so called “red line” that any attempt to use chemical weapons in the conflict in Syria 

would change the administration’s calculus on direct American intervention.35

Although President Obama ultimately elected not to intervene, President Donald 

Trump ordered military strikes against Syria in April 2018 after additional chemical 

weapons usage.36

The use of WMD, including chemical weapons, also significantly affects 

public support over military intervention. In 2012, during debates over whether the 

United States should be militarily involved in the Syrian Civil War, a Washington 

Post poll found that chemical usage drastically shifted public opinion in favor of 

military intervention. In general, only 17 percent of respondents believed the United 

States should be involved militarily.

37 However, if Syria used chemical weapons 

against its people, support for military intervention jumped to 63 percent.

38

Similarly, when asked whether they supported intervention in Syria if Syria lost 

control of its chemical weapons, 70 percent supported military involvement.39

Thus, the use or loss of control of chemical weapons alone was sufficient to 

radically change public support for military intervention.

While the categorization question is quite important, an answer is hard to 

find. In a study by Seth Carus on the term WMD, he identified 20 different 

definitions of WMD used by the United States government alone.40

The definitions fall into six general categories:41

1. WMD as nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons.

2. WMD as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) 

weapons.

3. WMD as CBRN and high-explosive (CBRNE) weapons.

4. WMD as CBRN weapons that cause massive destruction or kill large 

numbers of people.

5. WMD as weapons that cause massive destruction or kill large numbers 

of people, and do not necessarily include or exclude CBRN weapons.

6. WMD as weapons of mass destruction or effect, potentially including 

CBRNE weapons and other means of causing massive disruption, such 

as cyberattacks.42
Drone Swarms

7

However, these six categories really reflect two general classes of 

definition, based on weapons type and on weapons effect. All six definitional 

categories fall into one or both of these two classes. Categories 1 through 4 define 

WMD based on the type of weapon, varying what types are included. Categories 4

through 6 define WMD based on their effect, focusing on the ability to literally 

cause mass destruction or death. 

Neither Class of Definition Is Sufficient

While definitions of the first class offer ease of categorization, they do not 

offer guidance as to what separates these types of weapons from others. Nor do they 

offer any hint of what justifies expanding the term to include other types of 

weapons. This is problematic because weapon systems may emerge in the future 

that requires special attention akin to WMD. Therefore, because drone swarms 

could be one such weapon, this class of definition is not useful.

The second class of definition is incomplete. As others have noted, 

definitions based solely on effect would encompass large explosives, as well as 

non-weapons, such as the use of airplanes in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.43 This 

definition would also imply that, for example, chemical facilities holding 

potentially lethal gasses should be qualified as WMD. While such facilities may be 

used to inflict mass casualties via a terrorist attack on the facility, they are not 

inherently WMD.44

Carus also disagreed with these alternatives, instead arguing that the 

definition passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 is authoritative:

“[WMD are] . . . atomic explosive weapons, radioactive material 

weapons, lethal chemical and biological weapons, and any weapons 

developed in the future which have characteristics comparable in 

destructive effect to those of the atomic bomb or other weapons

mentioned above.”

54

Although this definition recognizes the potential for future WMD, it does 

not adequately separate WMD from conventional weapons. Chemical and 

biological weapons can vary significantly in their destructive effects. Toxins, such 

as ricin, have been effectively and typically used for the assassination of single 

targets. Most famously, Georgi Markov was assassinated with a pellet containing 

ricin injected by an umbrella. If WMD are weapons “comparable in destructive 

effect” to chemical and biological weapons, every weapon from handguns to tanks 

are WMD. The term would be analytically useless.

Various authors have also argued that “weapons of mass destruction” 

should be abandoned entirely.46 These authors argue that the term conflates 

fundamentally different types of weapon. CBRN weapons all operate based on 

different physical principles, vary significantly in their capacity to inflict mass 

destruction, and require different policies to counter them. Further, the normative 

nature of the term enables WMD to be co-opted for political purposes to encourage 

intervention.
Kallenborn

8

However, alternatives such as CBRN, NBC, and CBRNE retain the same 

problems as WMD. Each still squishes together different types of weapon.47

Binding them together in one term implies a similarity. If they are all different, why 

use a single term? Further, little reason exists to believe these terms cannot also be 

appropriated for political purposes. After all, most of the public is not steeped in 

international relations issues.48 They are most likely to encounter these alternatives 

in the context of weapons capable of mass destruction that drive popular news 

attention. Although these alternatives lose the explicit association with mass 

destruction, the term could implicitly gain the association, especially when each 

alternative and WMD overlap substantially. 

The Washington Post poll regarding American intervention in Syria 

unintentionally tested the argument of political support for intervention. The use or 

loss of control of chemical weapons alone was enough to radically change public 

support for military intervention. For critics of the term WMD, the poll is 

particularly problematic. Critics are concerned that the term increases support for 

inappropriate intervention because WMD implies the destructiveness of chemical 

and nuclear weapons are equivalent. Because WMD includes both weapons, the 

public interprets “WMD usage” to include nuclear weapons, which are capable of 

reliably inflicting far more damage. However, if the use of chemical weapons, 

specifically defined, is sufficient to change public perception, then this concern is 

unfounded. 

CBRN and alternatives also have a significant weakness compared to 

WMD. It’s unclear under what circumstances one alternative should be used over 

another and what shared proprieties justify combining the weapon systems 

together. These weaknesses encourage the proliferation of alternatives to WMD 

with seemingly arbitrary usage. Why should radiological or explosive weapons be 

included in some alternatives such as CBRNE, but not in others like NBC? The 

terms do not offer an answer. That’s a problem because it makes cross study and 

cross-organizational comparisons difficult. To what extent can a study on NBC 

weapons be combined with a study of CBRNE weapons? It also makes deciding 

whether to include new weapons systems impossible because there is no identified 

common denominator, which is particularly important for the present study.

Thus, while the WMD categorization is important, current definitions of 

WMD and alternatives such as CBRN do not provide clear guidance.
Drone Swarms

9

CHAPTER 2

Are Drone Swarms WMD?

Given the definitional challenges of WMD, I will evaluate drone swarms 

based on various rationales for separating WMD from conventional weapons. This 

avoids a messy debate, which cannot be resolved here, while addressing the 

debate’s underlying question. Why do scholars, analysts, and government officials

separate these weapons from others? 

The creation of distinct government agencies and policies to combat WMD 

suggests differences exist. The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is 

responsible for preparing for and combating WMD for the military.49 DTRA 

develops novel detection and response measures across the full range of WMD. 

Also, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Countering Weapons of Mass 

Destruction Office is responsible for domestic WMD detection and supporting 

federal, state, local, and international governments.50 Likewise, the Cooperative 

Threat Reduction program after the Cold War focused on preventing the 

proliferation of WMD, and only WMD, material and knowledge out of the Soviet 

Union.51

WMD can be considered distinct from conventional weapons based on their 

degree of harm, morality, and method of action. WMD are literally “weapons of 

mass destruction.” They can cause significantly more harm than traditional 

weapons. The public and policymakers have significant moral concerns with 

WMD, due to the degree of harm and the often horrific nature of death by WMD. 

WMD also have unique methods of action, relying on disease, asphyxiation, and 

radioactivity to cause harm. Unique methods of action demand unique defenses 

from protective gear to vaccines. 

Overall, drone swarms are akin to WMD in the degree of harm. Some drone 

swarms raise moral concerns, and drone swarms, unlike WMD, do not rely on 

unique methods of action. The scalable nature of drone swarms means they can 

pass any arbitrary threshold for “mass harm,” although their lethality is lower than 

traditional WMD. Drone swarms with meaningful control over targeting decisions 

do not raise significant risk of indiscriminate harm. However, a subset of drone 

swarms – AFADS – do. Drone swarms do not have distinct methods of action. 

Degree of Harm

Nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, though not radiological 

weapons, are distinct from conventional weapons because they can easily cause 

mass casualties. During World War I, the use of chemical weapons including 

phosgene, mustard gas, and chlorine resulted in more than 1.3 million casualties 

and approximately 90,000 deaths.52 New chemical agents developed in later years 

are even deadlier. Just 2.04 grams of pure sarin on the skin represent a median lethal 
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10

dose for a 73-kilogram (160.9-pound) person and 0.146 milligrams of pure sarin 

taken orally is enough to have a toxic effect.53

While not used on the same scale as chemical weapons, biological weapons 

are also highly deadly. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen famously held 

up a five-pound bag of sugar to represent the amount of Bacillus anthracis that 

could kill half of Washington D.C. if dispersed properly.54 The equivalent explosive 

power of nuclear weapons ranges from 20 tons to 50 megatons of TNT.

On this dimension, drone swarms could be theoretically categorized 

alongside WMD. Drone swarms could meet or exceed any arbitrary capability 

threshold to inflict mass casualties. For example, a swarm of 10,000 drones each 

equipped with large bombs and missiles would meet virtually any threshold for 

mass casualty capability. The primary limit on drone swarm size is the development 

of algorithms and systems to coordinate drones receiving increasingly complex 

information flows. Although that is a non-trivial technical challenge, extensive 

research is on-going in industry, academia, and government to develop drone 

swarm control systems. 

States seek drone swarms for military use. Every leg of the U.S. military, as 

well as the militaries of other states, is pursuing drone swarm technology. The U.S. 

Strategic Capabilities Office tested a swarm of 103 drones.55 The U.S. Navy 

recently tested a swarm of four drone boats.56 The U.S. Air Force Small Aircraft 

Systems Flight Plan: 2016-2036 envisions a broad array of roles for drone swarms, 

including attacking targets, providing intelligence, surveillance, and 

reconnaissance (ISR), and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).57 Besides 

the United States, China is making extensive investments in swarming and artificial 

intelligence.58 Chinese companies have tested swarms of a thousand rotor-wing 

drones and swarms of 119 fixed-wing drones.59 Russian companies are also 

pursuing swarming technology. Armen Isaakyan, the chief executive officer of the 

Kronstadt group, has hinted at secret Russian swarming programs.60

Non-state actors are not known to have developed drone swarms. However, 

they have clear interest in drones. During the Battle of Mosul, ISIS carried out more 

than 100 drone attacks in one month.61 Likewise, unknown persons in Great Britain 

used two drones to shut down London’s Gatwick airport, grounding flights for 30 

hours.62 Although the author could not identify commercial software allowing true 

drone swarms with drone-to-drone communication, control software to use drones 

en masse is increasingly available. For example, the Naval Postgraduate School 

used the open-source software, Ardu-Pilot, in their live 50 vs. 50 drone live flight 

testing.63

Unfortunately, examples do not exist to judge how much harm a true drone 

swarm can inflict. As a nascent, highly advanced military technology, a true swarm 

does not appear to have been used against either military or civilian populations. At 

best, only one real-world example exists of drones being used en masse. In January 

2018, 13 drones made of plywood and tape and strapped with bombs attacked two 

Russian bases in Syria en masse.

64 The Russian military claimed they destroyed or 

disabled all the drones with no injuries. However, the Free Alawite Movement that 

claimed responsibility also claimed they destroyed an S-400 missile launcher, 

which costs approximately $400 million.65I could not find an independent 
Drone Swarms

11

confirmation of this claim, nor supporting evidence. The claim nevertheless merits 

mention as a real-world example of drones used en masse. 

Nonetheless, the potential for massive combat swarms is clearly there. 

Drone swarms are low-cost, enable the development of new military tactics, and 

enable the integration of distributed, mobile sensor systems.66In particular, drone 

swarms enable the use of mass by bombarding adversary defenses with

overwhelming numbers of drones.67 This creates significant upward pressures to 

create larger swarms. If the goal of drone swarms is to overwhelm the enemy, more 

drones are better.

Of course, the degree of harm will vary significantly based on swarm size 

and armament. A drone swarm incorporating a single armed drone equipped with 

small arms is unlikely to meet any meaningful threshold of mass casualty 

capability. Evaluating the casualty potential of a drone swarm would require some 

measure that combines both the number of the drones and the type of weapon. 

While important for assessing a particular drone swarm, this is not relevant to the 

overall categorization because almost all traditional WMD can be reduced to 

trivial sizes.

Morality

WMD are distinct from conventional weapons on moral grounds. Under the 

Geneva Convention, combatants must “take all feasible precautions in the choice 

of means and methods of attack with a view to avoiding, and in any event to 

minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian 

objects.”68 However, minimizing the loss of civilian life from WMD is impossible. 

Chemical and biological weapons are susceptible to changes in wind patterns that 

may blow the agents into non-targeted populations. Further, biological and 

chemical weapons are likely to be employed in an indiscriminate manner, because 

they are useful in countervalue strikes, but less so against military targets who may 

be equipped with countermeasures.

69 Nuclear weapons are likely to cause 

significant civilian casualties because of the sheer size of the blast. The Hiroshima 

attack killed approximately 20,000 soldiers and between 70,000 and 126,000 

civilians, while the Nagasaki attack killed between 39,000 and 80,000 people. The 

radioactive fallout may also blow into untargeted civilian areas. As C. A. J. Coady 

wrote regarding the bombing of Dresden and Tokyo, “conventional bombing need 

not be as indiscriminate as this, whereas it seems inherent in the idea of a WMD 

that it is geared to violation of the principle of discrimination.”70

On this dimension, drone swarms, as a category, would not qualify. An 

unarmed drone swarm is clearly no weapon, much less a WMD. If the swarm is 

armed, human decisionmakers may elect to only fire at recognized military targets. 

With human control over targeting, drone swarms are not morally different than 

any other form of long-range munition. 

However, a certain subset could qualify in the short run: drone swarms that 

are armed and fully autonomous (e.g. self-targeting and self-mobile). Current 

technology cannot provide AFADS (or any fully autonomous LAWS for that 
Kallenborn

12

matter) with an effective ability to discriminate between combatants and noncombatants generally, except for specific pre-defined targets. 

In large part, the ability of AFADS to discriminate between civilian and 

military targets depends on the quality of the AFADS’ object recognition ability. 

AFADS requires the ability to effectively recognize indicators that the target is a 

military one. For example, the weapon needs to recognize whether a target is 

carrying a rifle or a rake. Accurate assessment depends heavily on image resolution 

and target visibility.71 Obscuring conditions such as rain, snow, or shadows may 

prevent civilian-military discriminators from being perceived accurately.72

AFADS must also identify and evaluate context. Even if a target is holding 

a rifle, the person may be a farmer, not a solider. In addition, guerrilla or 

unconventional forces blur the line between farmer and soldier, because they lack 

clear indicators of military affiliation. Even if a target is a soldier, the person may 

be considered a noncombatant due to illness or injury. 

In theory, AFADS and other autonomous weapons could discriminate 

between civilian and military targets. Debate is ongoing over whether autonomous 

systems could ever effectively accomplish this. However, both sides agree that 

discrimination on the battlefield is not likely to be possible in the near term.73

Discrimination requires an explicit effort by the developer to create and incorporate 

such a capability. AFADS would require a software-based method of doing so, 

because, by definition, they cannot rely on humans to make that decision.74

While software could be developed to account for every hypothetical, it 

would be extremely challenging. As the roboticist Dr. Noel Sharkey noted in 2012,

“We may move towards having some limited sensory and visual discrimination in 

certain narrowly constrained circumstances within the next 50 years.”75 Any 

autonomous weapon system must consider numerous possible variations and 

situations. Requiring such situational analysis may also slow down the AFADS’ 

decision-making ability, creating opportunities for adversary counterattack. So,

states may elect not to incorporate robust ethical decision making. 

However, others disagree with Sharkey’s views. As Ronald Arkin argues, 

ethical discrimination may be possible in the future and may lead to robots that are 

better than humans at discriminating between civilian and military targets.76

Arkin supports this through six arguments:

1. Robots are expendable and therefore can be more 

conservative in choosing to fire.

2. Advanced sensors may provide better sensing capability 

than humans.

3. Robots would not be clouded with human emotions that 

could impact judgment.

4. Robots are less susceptible to confirmation biases.
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13

5. Robots can integrate more information sources, faster.

6. In human-robot teams, autonomous systems could report 

human ethical violations.77

While Arkin’s arguments are intriguing, several of them depend on 

technological capabilities that are not yet possible or have other problems. For 

example, Arguments 3 and 4 are only relevant if robots can achieve near-human 

levels of judgment. This does not appear to be possible in the near future. Further, 

while robots are expendable, they are also a valuable military asset, so their loss 

would still harm overall military capabilities. So, robots are unlikely to be 

significantly more conservative in their fire than humans. Argument 6 is only 

applicable to a specific usage for robots and would not apply to robots as 

independent weapons. Nonetheless, Arkin compellingly shows that discrimination 

challenges may be mitigated by future technology. However, technology is not the 

only challenge in adequate target discrimination.

Effective moral discrimination depends on military decisions about when 

and where to employ AFADS. If AFADS are employed in areas with little 

likelihood of civilian presence, the likelihood of civilian casualties is inherently 

low. For example, autonomy is already used in a limited way in anti-tank mines, 

the Navy MK-60 sea mines, and Patriot anti-aircraft systems. However, the context 

of their use makes accidental civilian harm unlikely.78 Similarly, the SGR-A1 

automated gun turret is only employed in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between 

South Korea and North Korea, where potential targets can be assumed to be 

hostile.79 However, fully autonomous systems as defined here – systems that are 

both self-mobile and self-targeting –must also remain in an area with limited to no 

civilians. 

Self-mobile autonomous weapon systems are inherently more difficult than 

non-self-mobile weapons to confine to military targets. The South Korean SGR-A1 

gun turret is self-targeting, but not self-mobile. Because the DMZ has few civilian 

targets, that means the turret is highly unlikely to accidently shoot a civilian target 

because civilian movement is highly confined and controlled. The gun turret cannot 

move itself, so the South Korean military can be confident it will stay there. 

However, if the gun turret were self-mobile, it could move into a civilian area in 

pursuit of a target or simply due to an error. This makes self-mobility especially 

significant from a law of war perspective.

Expressed another way, a self-targeting gun turret on the Antarctic sea ice

does not present a significant threat to human life. However, give the turret wheels, 

and it could wander into a civilian research station.

The difficulty of reducing risks to civilians may also vary based on domain

and target. While foliage, buildings, and other objects may hide land-based 

platforms, ships on the open ocean have limited to no obstructions, other than 

camouflaging weather conditions and the curve of the Earth. Military ships also 

may be easier to distinguish from civilian ships, owing to much larger sizes and the 

presence of distinctive cannons and other equipment. Alternatively, AFADS could 

be restricted to only anti-drone warfare where only robots would be harmed.80 In 
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practice, this is likely to entail a few challenges, such as appropriately 

differentiating between manned and unmanned craft. That might be easier than 

differentiating between combatants and noncombatants, but certainly not a trivial 

task. So, varying domain and target may reduce, but not resolve, the challenge of 

adequate civilian-military discrimination. 

Thus, AFADS will be morally indiscriminate in the near term. Future 

technological advances may allow them to be morally discriminate, but until then 

AFADS could be categorized with WMD on moral grounds.

Method of Action

WMD are distinct from conventional weapons because they depend on, or 

significantly incorporate, nontraditional methods of inflicting harm. Conventional 

weapons rely on conventional mechanisms of inflicting harm, such as the 

momentum of the bullet or the pressure of an explosion. However, biological 

weapons rely on the transmission of disease. Chemical weapons depend variously 

on asphyxiation, disruption of neurotransmitters, or chemical burn depending on 

the agent. Radioactive and nuclear weapons incorporate significant radioactivity 

that can damage or mutate cells. 

The mechanism of action also means that harm may continue well after an 

attack. Diseases may spread to new people. Chemical agents may persist for days 

or weeks, causing continual harm. Nuclear fallout can cause radioactive harm years 

later. This creates significant postattack cleanup challenges.

Distinct methods of action give rise to unique countermeasures. Respirators 

and hazardous material (HAZMAT) suits cannot stop bullets, but can prevent harm 

from chemical, biological, and radiological agents. States have also developed 

detectors to identify signatures of WMD agents. The multibillion-dollar BioWatch 

program deployed air filtration systems across the United States to help identify 

biological weapons agents.81 Likewise, nuclear and radiological weapons detectors 

sense either natural or stimulated radiation emitted by such weapons.82

Drone swarms do not have unique methods of action. While the platform is 

novel, the payloads are not. Drone swarms may be equipped with conventional 

arms that inflict damage through traditional kinetic means. Although drone swarms 

could be armed with WMD agents, a drone swarm attack does not change the nature 

of the WMD agent being used nor does this change with full autonomy.83
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CHAPTER 3

The Question of Autonomy

Will drone swarms ever become fully autonomous? Whether states will 

allow full autonomy is unclear. The Department of Defense policy on autonomy in 

weapon systems prevents autonomous systems to select humans as targets without 

appropriate human control.84 However, the “Summer Study on Autonomy” by the 

Defense Science Board concluded that the U.S. military “must accelerate its 

exploitation of autonomy – both to realize the potential military value and to remain 

ahead of adversaries who also will exploit its operational benefits.”

85 Exploiting the 

benefits of autonomy may ultimately require adoption of full autonomy, especially 

if adversaries do so. 

The incentives are mixed. While full autonomy offers clear benefits for 

drone swarms, clear risks exist too. However, because states may calculate their 

interests differently, especially when it comes to their security, AFADS emergence 

should not be discounted. 

Incentives for full autonomy

More autonomous drone swarms are easier to control. Autonomy may allow 

multiple drones in the swarm to follow a single leader, maintain fixed distances 

from one another, dodge obstacles, and carry out strikes against targets. Each 

function autotomized is one less function requiring operator focus.

Larger, more complex drone swarms place more cognitive demands on 

human operators. Large swarms have more operational demands and more sensors 

sending information to the operators.

86 Overworked operators may respond more 

slowly. Heterogeneous swarms comprised of drones of different sizes and payloads 

require even greater attention.87 The operators must coordinate complex actions, 

such as deploying one drone to search for targets and another to carry out strikes.

Even restricting humans to only use of force decisions would be a challenge 

as swarm size increases, due to the large number of inputs. An operator must 

maintain awareness of the inputs from numerous sensors in a remote area. The 

challenge is exacerbated if the swarm has multiple attack drones because the 

operator must monitor the activities of each. Although multiple operators could be 

used to control the swarm, this would offset any cost benefits. For a truly massive 

swarm of tens or even hundreds of thousands of drones, an operator for each attack 

drone would be infeasible. 

A combat environment creates significant additional complexity. In a 

military context, the operator must also detect, avoid, and counter potential 

adversaries. Any communication delays from the drones to the operator raise the 

risks of adversaries defeating the swarm.88 As drone swarms are fundamentally 
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information-dependent weapons, adversaries are also likely to attack inter-swarm 

and operator to drone communications too.89

Already, drone operation places significant stress on operators. A 2017 

RAND Corporation study found extensive stress and dissatisfaction among Air 

Force drone operators, contributing to an inability to staff drone units.90 The RAND

Corporation study notes approximately one third of the operators in their focus 

group displayed signs of burnout, viewing their stress as greater than other career 

fields.91 Greater swarm autonomy would combat all of these challenges, and also 

may offer military benefits.

Greater autonomy may offer greater survivability. A human-controlled 

drone swarm would be vulnerable to loss of the human operator. As the famous 

military theoretician Sun Tzu implores, “To advance without the possibility of 

being checked, you must strike fast at the enemy’s weakest points.”92 For a humancontrolled drone swarm, the human operator is a significant weak point because 

killing or incapacitating the operator would disable the swarm.93 The human 

operator could also fall sick or become injured unrelated to adversary attack. A 

fully autonomous drone swarm has no such risks.

Greater autonomy also allows the drone swarm to make decisions faster. 

For a remotely operated swarm, an operator must receive information from the 

drones in the field, interpret that information, decide to fire a weapons payload, and 

send a command back to fire. The added delay may be enough for an adversary to 

fire first, move positions, or take any other form of defensive action. The delay will 

be even longer with more drones in the swarm because the operator’s focus may be 

elsewhere. Delegating decision making to artificial intelligences in the field could 

shorten the decision-making loop, and thereby increase the swarm’s survivability, 

and capacity to cause harm. 

Greater autonomy also allows swarms to be used in novel ways. Drone 

swarms could be programmed to carry out multiple strikes over a longer period, 

dispersing between attacks. This approach could be particularly appealing for 

homeland defense with drones separated and stored in different areas around a city. 

When activated, the drones come together and carry out strikes. The defender 

would not need to worry about the loss of any fixed operating site, but full 

autonomy has significant disadvantages. 

Disincentives for Full Autonomy

Concerns over loss of control are likely to significantly inhibit the creation 

of AFADS. An uncontrolled drone swarm could potentially kill friendly civilians 

or military personnel simply due to an error in coding. Domestic and international 

audiences may pressure states to refrain from developing fully autonomous weapon 

systems generally – and AFADS specifically – over these concerns. Domestic 

audiences may be concerned about potential risks to friendly soldiers and civilians. 

Both domestic and international audiences may be concerned about the potential 

violations to international laws of war on non-civilian targeting. International 

audiences may also be concerned that a rogue swarm may wander into their 
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17

territory, harming their citizens despite not being part of a conflict. As of November 

2018, 28 nations endorsed a complete ban on fully autonomous weapons.94

Interested militaries may also be dissuaded from AFADS for the same 

reasons. A rogue swarm that wanders into another state could create a crisis that 

distracts time and resources from resolving an ongoing conflict and harms the 

state’s soft power. If the rogue swarm causes significant casualties, it could risk 

drawing another adversary into the conflict. The military using the swarm would 

be in a much more difficult position to manage the conflict and achieve victory. 

Giving over complete control to an artificial intelligence could induce new 

vulnerabilities that weaken the reliability of AFADS. Inherently, full autonomy 

requires software and/or hardware to support more sophisticated decision making. 

That software and/or hardware may make mistakes or adversaries may introduce 

error via cyberattack. System complexity might make deliberate or accidental errors 

difficult to identify. The lack of human control could exacerbate these fears under 

the belief they are unexpected or uncontrollable. More mundane concerns exist as 

well.

Military services might possess cultural inhibitions against granting full 

autonomy to drone swarms. For example, the U.S. Air Force tends to refer to drones 

as “remotely piloted” as opposed to simply “autonomous vehicles,” likely because 

of the U.S. Air Force’s cultural focus on pilots.95 Similarly, DOD policy preventing 

autonomous weapons from targeting humans may establish normative prohibitions 

over the long term.96 Long-term prohibitions are especially likely if the systems are 

unreliable.97 Full autonomy just may not be worth it. 

Nonetheless, because of the potential incentives, it is certainly possible that 

a state or military will believe the benefits outweigh the costs. Thus, the emergence 

of AFADS is plausible.
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CHAPTER 4

Drone Swarms in WMD Roles

Traditionally, WMD have been used as weapons for mass casualty, 

assassination, and A2/AD. WMD are also appealing as strategic deterrents, either 

for counterforce or countervalue targeting, though only nuclear weapons are 

particularly effective in this regard. If certain forms of drone swarm can be 

considered WMD, how well do they perform in those roles?

As strategic deterrent weapons, states use the threat of WMD usage to 

discourage other states and non-state actors from taking certain actions. For 

example, the United States used threats of nuclear retaliation – both explicit and 

implicit – to discourage a potential Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Generally, 

strategic deterrents may be targeted at either adversary military forces 

(counterforce) or civilian populations (countervalue). While counterforce targeting 

is regarded as more ethically acceptable and diminishes an adversary’s ability to 

retaliate, countervalue targeting may destroy economic and political systems, 

inhibiting the will of a target state to continue the conflict and ability to operate as 

a coherent unit. 

States and terrorist organizations have pursued and used WMD to cause 

mass casualties. During the Syrian Civil War, the government of Bashar al-Assad 

used chemical weapons to inflict extensive casualties on Syrian civilians. Similarly, 

Aum Shinrikyo in Japan sought to use chemical, biological, and potentially even 

nuclear weapons to cause mass death and incite an apocalyptic civil war.98 The 

radical environmental group RISE sought biological weapons to kill off most 

humans to repopulate the earth with enlightened, environmentally conscious 

revolutionaries.99

Both states and terrorist organizations have used WMD for assassinations. 

The South African chemical and biological weapons program, Project Coast, was 

geared created, in part, to assassinate the regime’s adversaries.100 Similarly, North 

Korea is believed to have employed the chemical warfare agent VX in the 

assassination of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s halfbrother.

101 Moreover, the October 2001 Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of 

the disease anthrax) terrorist attacks targeted American Senators Patrick Leahy and 

Thomas Daschle, as well as various media organizations (whether the attacker 

sought to kill the senators or simply draw attention is unclear).102

Both states and terrorist organizations could pursue WMD for A2/AD 

purposes. Radiological weapons can be used against sea- or airports to cause 

economic harm or inhibit military operations.103 As a RAND Corporation report 

notes, nuclear weapons can be used to strike ships at sea, fixed military assets, 

civilian infrastructure, U.S. forces inside adversary territory, or to disrupt command 

and control systems.104
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The potential of drone swarms to fill WMD roles is a function of four 

attributes:

1. Their capacity to inflict harm.

2. Availability of defenses.

3. Stealth

4. Persistence.

Each WMD role depends on some combination of these factors, though 

their relative importance may differ. All factors are relevant for strategic deterrence. 

Most factors are relevant for mass casualty weapons, though persistence is less 

relevant. As an assassination weapon, the stealth of a drone swarm is likely to be 

most important, although the availability of defenses may play a role. The areadenial role depends primarily on a weapon’s persistence because an area can be 

denied only if the weapon poses a threat. However, the availability of defenses and 

capacity to inflict harm will affect an adversary’s calculation on occupying or 

passing through an area despite the threat.

Overall, the analysis of drone swarm attributes shows that:

1. Drone swarms are quite capable of inflicting mass harm and the 

size of the swarm can be varied to increase or decrease the likely 

damage caused.

2. Defenses against drone swarms abound, though their efficacy 

will depend on the concept of swarm operation.

3. Stealth is likely to be a significant challenge for swarms and 

individual drones are likely to be far more efficacious on this 

dimension.

4. Swarms could serve as persistent threats, limited by their power 

capacity, operating concepts, and environmental conditions.

This implies that drone swarms could be highly effective as mass casualty 

weapons, especially against soft targets. Infantry units are likely to be ideal targets 

in this role. A swarm could easily disperse to target infantry spread out over an area. 

Infantry are also unlikely to have native air defense capabilities in any significance. 

Unfortunately, massed civilians are also likely to be ideal mass casualty targets. 

Civilians will have little to no protection and certainly no sophisticated counterdrone systems. 

Particularly nefarious states may be drawn to drone swarms and AFADS as 

genocidal weapons. Ethnic indicators are often physical and therefore highly 
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21

visible, which may enable autonomous detection. Racial biases already creep into 

artificial intelligence systems inadvertently.105In addition, drone swarms lack the 

normative and legal constraints that inhibit development and use of traditional 

WMD agents.

Swarms could serve as strategic deterrent weapons, but the availability of 

defenses make them less ideal for this role, especially compared to nuclear 

weapons. Strategic deterrent weapons must be reliable. If the United States 

communicates a threat that the adversary does not believe the United States can 

carry out, the adversary is unlikely to be deterred. Although drone swarms offer 

clear military advantages, a wide range of traditional arms can counter them, and 

information warfare attacks can disable or destroy even massive swarms. 

States are unlikely to pursue drone swarms as assassination weapons due to 

the lack of stealth and relative availability of defenses. An assassination target is 

likely to observe a massive swarm of drones coming towards them and respond. 

The drone swarm user would also lose any plausible deniability, especially if any 

drone was downed during the attack. Of course, actors may be unconcerned about 

their affiliation being known, such as during an active conflict, assassinating a 

domestic dissident, or deliberately seeking media attention or psychological harm.

Terrorist organizations may even see the lack of stealth as advantage in addition to 

potentially overwhelming often much better-armed states.

Drone swarms could be useful in A2/AD. However, it is likely to be context 

dependent. The ability of the drones to remain in the area is likely to be both highly 

variable and highly challenging. Solutions to mitigate power limitations, such as 

recharging stations and motherships, also create new vulnerabilities to attack. 

The remainder of this section breaks down the properties of drone swarms

that underlie these overall conclusions.

Capacity to Inflict Harm

The capacity to inflict harm on either human beings or military equipment 

is critical for all four WMD roles. Strategic deterrent weapons must inflict enough

harm to adversary civilian and military populations and equipment to deter the 

adversary from taking an otherwise desirable action. By definition, a mass casualty 

weapon must be capable of inflicting significant harm. An assassination weapon 

must cross the minimum threshold of being lethal and A2/AD weapons must 

impose a threat to adversaries seeking access to a defended area. Drone swarms can 

inflict harm either directly or indirectly.

Drone swarms can inflict direct harm as explosive devices or as weapons 

platforms. Drones within the swarm can be equipped with explosives to kamikaze 

into adversaries. Drones could be dedicated military systems or off-the-shelf drones 

modified to allow swarming. Such weapons could be used to strike crowded public 

areas, buildings, or adversary weapons platforms, striking from many different 

directions. The lack of human operator makes the drones within the swarm readily 

disposable, allowing the swarm to potentially overwhelm adversary defenses 

through sheer numbers. As weapons platforms, drone swarms could be equipped 

with guns, airdropped bombs, or missiles. 
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The capacity of a drone swarm to inflict harm is highly variable, depending 

on the size of the swarm, drone armament and armoring, range, the speed of the 

drones and their control algorithms, as well as adversary defenses (explored in 

depth in the next section). A larger swarm can incorporate more bombs or guns, 

incorporate more sensor drones for more precise targeting and better situational 

awareness, or more control drones to manage the swarm. Larger swarms may also 

better survive some target defenses, because the swarm will be more resilient to 

drones being downed. The type and degree of armoring – if any – will also make it 

better able to resist defenses. Physically faster drones can better avoid adversary 

defenses, while algorithmically faster drones may more rapidly identify and 

respond to threats and coordinate actions.106 For example, researchers recently 

developed drones capable of dodging thrown objects.107 The type of munitions 

payload – gun, explosive, or missile – will also affect the swarm’s killing capacity 

and the type of target it can strike. With larger munitions, swarms can inflict more 

damage against harder targets. 

The nature of drone swarms makes them inherently scalable. The number, 

type, and payloads of the drones within the swarm can be varied depending on the 

objective. A handful of drones may be deployed to signal hostile intent or to achieve 

discrete objectives such as attacking a target. Or hundreds of thousands of wellarmed drones could be deployed against a strategic or operational objective, such 

as a city or military base. This would allow a state to control the ladder of escalation 

in a crisis. 

Alternatively, drone swarms may strike commercial or military planes, 

nuclear power plants, or chemical plants either by colliding with them or with 

carried explosives to cause indirect harm. Terrorist organizations could seek to 

cause mass casualties by flying drones into the engines of commercial or military 

planes.108 This method of attack would likely lower the terrorist’s operational risk 

because they could be launched from outside the airport without needing to bypass 

a security checkpoint.109 The use of drones may also carry symbolic value because 

of Western nations’ use of drones against Muslim nations.110

Terrorist or state actors could instead attack a chemical or nuclear facility 

using an aerial drone swarm, either a true swarm or drones en masse.111 Drones 

could search the area for and strike target containers to release contained gases over 

a population. Launched from outside the facility, no terrorist would need to bypass 

access controls. 

In addition to casualty numbers, the speed and reliability of achieving them 

are relevant for strategic deterrent weapons. While chemical and biological 

weapons are theoretically capable of inflicting horrendous numbers of casualties, 

they rarely achieve that effect. Many variables including wind, temperature, and 

humidity affect their reliability.112 Even if a biological attack is successful, 

symptoms may not manifest for several days.113 By contrast, a successful nuclear 

weapon delivery can reliably inflict massive damage immediately.

Drone swarms armed with conventional weapons could inflict damage far 

more quickly than biological weapons and are generally less affected by 

environmental conditions than chemical or biological agents. However, 

environmental conditions still pose significant challenges. Even modest winds can 
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23

make air photography difficult for small fixed-wing drones.114 Drone swarms with 

high degrees of autonomy may rely on visual sensors from small drones to identify 

natural hazards, adversary defenses, and targets. More significant than 

environmental conditions are adversary defenses.

Availability of Defenses

Defenses limit the ability of drone swarms to inflict damage. Effective 

defenses can undercut the ability of a weapon to successfully deter an adversary 

because the weapon can less reliably impose costs. Similarly, effective defenses 

make it harder to inflict mass casualties and lower the likelihood of a successful 

assassination or targeted killing. If a weapon can be easily defended against, it is 

unlikely to be effective at controlling an area to prevent adversary movement.

As Paul Scharre discusses, a broad variety of defenses against swarms are 

possible.115 Low cost-per-shot weapons such as lasers, rail guns, and machine guns 

provide cost effective ways of striking many drones.116 High-powered microwaves 

can be used to disrupt or destroy the electronics within the drones.117 Swarms could 

be used to defeat other swarms.118 Alternatively, defenders may seek to jam 

communications between the drones or between the swarm and its control system, 

take control of the swarm via cyberattack or fake data, or exploit the decisionmaking algorithms of the swarm to draw it into a problematic position.119

In 

addition, defenders may just hang a net to catch the drones and inhibit movement.120

Nonetheless, the relative efficacy of these defenses is still uncertain. Some 

drone swarm defenses are still in development (e.g. counter-swarm swarms) or not 

widely used (e.g. laser weapons). Others are unique to specific drone swarm 

characteristics. Nets are not useful against ground or surface drones. The success 

of algorithm manipulation depends on the degree of human control and any builtin error detection mechanisms. As a consensus report by the National Academies 

of Science, Engineering, and Medicine notes, “Today’s consumer and customized 

(small, unmanned, aerial systems) can increasingly operate without radio frequency 

command and control links by using automated target recognition and tracking, 

obstacle avoidance, and other software-enabled capabilities.”121 These 

developments make electronic warfare jamming significantly more difficult.

Existing open-source analyses are mixed. Loc Pham’s modeling of a 

hypothetical attack with drones en masse on an American destroyer found eight 

drones (four advanced Israeli Harpy drones and four off-the-shelf drones) were 

sufficient to overwhelm current destroyer defenses and would likely achieve four 

hits.122 However, the number of hits can be significantly reduced with currently 

available technology, such as electronic warfare jamming technology.

The efficacy of defenses will depend on the concept of drone swarm 

employment and the countermeasures available to the swarm. Nets and simple 

countermeasures might be effective against small aerial drones equipped with 

short-range weapons.123 However, larger aerial drones or ground-based drones with 

long-range weapons may be able to evade these measures, though larger drones are

also more vulnerable to conventional anti-air weapons. Alternatively, unarmed 

sensing drones within the swarm may be dedicated to searching for, identifying, 
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and relaying information about potential incoming threats.124 Drone swarms may 

also adopt irregular, unpredictable flight paths, fly at low altitude, or use the natural 

environment to evade detection.125 Drone swarms may also vary their method of 

communication, use multiple communication frequencies, and adopt other jamming 

defenses.

Far more drone swarm defense options exist compared to WMD defenses 

and some are more readily available. At best, sheltering in an extremely hardened 

area might protect against some nuclear weapons effects (assuming sufficient 

warning to retreat). Although civilian populations can defend themselves against 

chemical and biological weapons attack with protective gear, that gear is not 

broadly available. While basic protections such as gas masks may work against 

some chemical and biological agents, many agents can operate based on skin 

contact. By contrast, the Drone Center at Bard College inventoried 537 systems on 

the market for countering aerial drones.126 Likewise, a wide range of simple 

countermeasures may be effective against some drone swarms from nets to small 

arms. Traditional, broadly available anti-air and anti-tank weapons may be useful

too.

Persistence

The persistence of a weapon refers to its ability to continue inflicting harm 

over a long period. Persistence is primarily relevant for a weapon’s ability to serve 

in an A2/AD role. It may also affect the weapon’s role as a mass casualty weapon, 

because it could continually cause casualties. Generally, persistence is not 

significant for an assassination weapon, though the attributes that allow persistence 

may be relevant for assassination purposes (e.g. high loiter time would allow an 

assassination drone to wait for a target to appear.) 

The persistence of a drone swarm depends on the onboard power of its 

component drones, the swarm’s operating concept, and the operational 

environment. Overall, because the effectiveness of drone swarms stems from the 

cooperative behavior of its member drones, the persistence of the drone swarm 

likely will be equivalent to its least persistent member. 

Onboard power is the primary limitation to drone swarm persistence. 

Without power, the drones cannot function. Large drones such as the Predator may 

have an onboard engine that can generate energy for a long period, but smaller 

drones must rely on battery life. Although the drone swarm could simply shed outof-power drones, an adversary may intercept and exploit fallen drones to gather 

intelligence on the underlying technology, identify the user, or use the fallen drone 

to track the rest of the swarm.

Other drone improvements can increase persistence. Battery technology is 

improving with greater energy storage.

127 Likewise, improvements to machine 

learning and artificial intelligence (AI) may help drones better utilize available 

power.

128 More broadly, new technologies like inductive charging could allow 

drone swarms to recharge on flat platforms or powerlines.129
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The drone swarm’s operating concept may increase or decrease the swarm’s 

power usage, thereby affecting its persistence. Unarmed sensor drones may actively 

rove over an area searching for potential targets or sensor-carrying drones may 

disperse passive sensors then lay at rest. Attack drones may accompany sensor 

drones or wait at rest to be called to attack. The swarm could also incorporate 

manned or unmanned support systems for recharging, such as a large mothership 

with recharging stations. Of course, such a mothership would also be an obvious 

target.

The environment can create hazards that limit the ability of the swarm to 

remain in the area. Rain, snow, and other weather conditions may force a premature 

swarm retreat or prevent the swarm from entering an area at all. Other conditions 

such as smoke, wind buffeting, and severe cold may also limit swarm persistence.130

This will particularly affect swarms of small, aerial drones, but environmental 

conditions certainly could inhibit swarms in different domains and larger, aerial 

drones. For example, if a ground drone drove into a snow bank, a human might not 

be available to extract it. Overall, these factors mean drone swarms have potential 

for high persistence, but the persistence is likely to be highly variable. Except for 

A2/AD purposes, the persistence of drone swarms is less important than their 

stealth.

Stealth

Stealth allows actors to place WMD covertly, mount an attack without the 

target being aware, or achieve plausible deniability. Stealth is useful for strategic 

deterrent weapons because stealth lowers the likelihood of the weapon being 

eliminated in an adversary’s first strike and from being eliminated by adversary 

defenses while en route to attack. Strategic nuclear bombers incorporate stealth 

technology, while Trident missile submarines hide in the vastness of the ocean. 

Like with strategic deterrence, stealth aids mass casualty weapons in evading 

adversary defenses. In addition, stealth is critical for assassination because a failure 

of stealth may allow the target to escape or take protective action. Stealth has some 

utility for A2/AD roles by generating adversary uncertainty about whether an area 

is under threat, but stealth is not critical. In fact, a lack of stealth may be desirable 

to discourage an adversary from entering a given area.

Drone swarm stealth and capacity generally have an inverse relationship. 

Although more drones in the swarm offer greater capacity, they also lower the 

swarm’s stealth. The great strength of drone swarms – their numbers – makes 

stealth difficult. Large numbers of drones are likely to draw significant attention, 

especially because large numbers of drones will be quite noisy. Both the sight and 

sound of the swarm may offer warning to a target to prepare defenses or escape the 

area. Similarly, in attempting to overwhelm adversary defenses, some drones will 

likely fall. Those fallen drones will provide clues on the source of the attack, 

weakening any plausible deniability. Drone swarms may be placed in a covert 

manner that may mitigate some stealth inadequacies. For example, drones could be 

preplaced on the roofs of buildings near a planned attack area, coalescing at the 

time and place of attack. 
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The use of drones generally, swarms or otherwise, limit postattack

traceability. Drones can be controlled from a discrete location far from the location 

of an attack. Responders would likely have a significant challenge locating where 

the attack stemmed from. Further, distance from the target would ensure the 

attacker is not at risk if the attack is interrupted prematurely. 

In general, individual drones are likely to be much better suited to stealthy 

operations. A single drone would draw far less attention than a large swarm. If 

advanced stealth technology is needed, equipping a single drone is much cheaper 

than equipping thousands. 

Drone swarms are far less stealthy than traditional WMD. Both chemical 

and biological weapons can cause lethal effects with very little material. The small 

material size makes these weapons highly stealthy, and therefore highly useful for 

assassination because the material may go undetected prior to, during, and 

potentially even after an attack. Although nuclear weapons are not stealthy 

themselves, nuclear delivery platforms already incorporate expensive and 

sophisticated stealth technologies. 
Drone Swarms

27

CHAPTER 5

Conclusion

Drone swarms, as a class, should not be considered WMD. However, a 

subset of drones, AFADS, should be. Drone swarms are capable of inflicting mass 

harm and AFADS are likely to be inherently indiscriminate for the foreseeable 

future. Drone swarms may also serve in traditional WMD roles, especially as 

weapons of mass violence against soft targets, but what remains unanswered is this 

question. What should be done?

Policy options fall into two general categories – preventative and 

responsive. Preventative policies seek to prevent AFADS from ever emerging, 

while responsive approaches seek to mitigate their negative impacts. In both 

categories, separating fully autonomous and non-autonomous drone swarms is 

critical. Without full autonomy, drone swarms should not be considered WMD.

The two are related, but not mutually exclusive. Certain policies that 

mitigate the harms of AFADS may also encourage their development. For example, 

global governments could seek to develop ethical targeting software and, in so 

doing, encourage proliferation through reduced moral opposition to fully 

autonomous weapons, including AFADS. However, approaches that limit or 

discourage the use or trade in AFADS disincentivize their creation in the first place. 

For example, if the use of AFADS against civilians motivates the United States to 

intervene militarily, rogue actors may be discouraged from developing AFADS as 

a mass casualty weapon. 

The United States government should consider:

1. Issuing statements of compliance – The United States and global 

governments should officially assert a general belief that AFADS fall under the 

scope of applicable WMD treaties. This would encourage adoption by other states, 

signaling the intention of the United States and others to treat usage of AFADS the 

same as another WMD system. Of course, states must establish thresholds for when 

a swarm becomes a WMD, but the general principle can be established with the 

explicit intention of determining such a threshold. 

2. Evaluating swarms – States should establish thresholds for when AFADS 

cross the line to WMD. A fully autonomous drone swarm with only one armed 

drone would technically qualify as an AFADS, but is unlikely to meaningfully 

inflict mass casualties. Drone swarms could be evaluated based on a “swarm score,” 

a quantitative measure based on the number of armed drones and the type and size 

of munitions. In general, the more armed drones, the deadlier the swarm. Similarly, 

the larger and deadlier the carried munitions, the deadlier the swarm. Such analysis, 

for example, could rely on firepower scores as used in war games that combine 
Kallenborn

28

weapon lethality and rate of fire.131 While the actual number of casualties inflicted 

will depend on a complex interaction between offensive swarm, supporting 

offensive capabilities, and adversary defenses, evaluating only the drone swarm 

could provide a generalizable method of comparing capabilities between and within 

states.

3. Preventing emergence – Advancing policies, laws, international norms, 

and even treaties against fully autonomous weapons may prevent AFADS from 

emerging. DOD directive 3000.09 disallows autonomous weapon systems to target 

humans without appropriate human judgment, effectively disallowing AFADS.132

However, this policy could change relatively easily because 3000.09 is not codified 

in law and “appropriate human judgment” is vague. Similarly, the nascent 

movement to outlaw LAWS would necessarily outlaw AFADS. Success in such 

efforts is likely to depend significantly on the perceived military value of AFADS 

and LAWS writ large.

4. Developing ethical targeting – The United States and global governments 

could seek to develop ethical targeting systems for autonomous weapons. Software 

could be developed that can integrate with AFADS targeting systems that checks 

for whether a given target is civilian or military. Of course, states may resist the 

adoption of ethical targeting systems or adopt, but cheat. Even if states and global 

society cannot verify the adoption of ethical systems, an overt, costly commitment 

communicates genuine interest. Embedded ethical systems are also likely to be a 

significant technological challenge. Embedded ethics may also have unexpected, 

pernicious effects such as encouraging the proliferation of autonomous weapons by 

minimizing moral opposition. 

5. Debating intervention policy – The National Security Council, defense 

universities, think tanks, and other national security community organizations 

should debate the merits of whether AFADS use is sufficient to justify military 

intervention. Such debate should include discussion of why WMD usage merits

intervention in the first place and whether such intervention (or not) is justified. It 

should also include debate over what scale of usage is sufficient to justify 

intervention: does the size of the swarm matter? Does the target matter? Although 

the categorization of AFADS as WMD suggest intervention is merited, ontological 

categorization is one of many considerations in military intervention policy.

6. Adopting new restrictions in UN Resolution 1540 – UN 1540 attempts to 

prevent WMD terrorism through imposed requirements on states to, inter alia, 

prevent sharing of WMD with non-state actors and adopt appropriate laws against 

terrorists developing and using WMD. As written, UN 1540 focuses on nuclear, 

chemical, and biological weapons. The treaty may need to be updated to include 

restrictions on AFADS, specifically on pre-built AFADS and software that allows 

drone collaboration and self-targeting weapon systems. In the near term, only states 

with advanced militaries are likely to successfully develop drone swarms and 

AFADS of any meaningful sophistication. The development of sophisticated 
Drone Swarms

29

military drones generally requires significant industrial, organizational, and 

infrastructural capacity.133 Nonetheless, non-state actors could develop basic drone 

swarms over the longer term, especially as open-source software already allows 

multi-drone control. 

7. Expanding scope of counter WMD organizations – National security 

organizations charged with countering WMD should consider whether AFADS fall 

within their scope. Such organizations should particularly focus on their rationale 

for separating WMD from conventional weapons. Some organizations may focus 

on WMD because of the unique technical capabilities involved with defending 

against them, such as the development of protective gear. Incorporating AFADS 

would not make sense. However, organizations focused on preventing mass 

casualty terror attacks would be well justified in including AFADS and potentially 

drone swarms writ large.

8. Developing verification methods – If AFADS are WMD, but drone 

swarms are not, states must be able to tell the difference. Verification could focus 

on the number of armed drones within the swarm, because large swarms will 

require higher levels of autonomy and more armed drones generally implies greater 

capacity for destruction. University and government researchers could identify 

thresholds at which human control of the swarm becomes virtually impossible. 

Cyber forensics is also likely to be a fruitful approach. The military advantage of 

drone swarms stems from the use of large numbers of relatively low-cost drones 

that can overwhelm adversary defenses. Inevitably, some drones will be defeated. 

States may be able to assess fallen drones to assess their degree of autonomy.

The United States and the international community should take strong 

actions to minimize the risks of drone swarms and AFADS to national and global 

security. 
Kallenborn

30
Drone Swarms

31

Notes

1. “Stop Autonomous Weapons,” Slaughterbots, YouTube, accessed Oct. 6, 2018, 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO6M2HsoIA.

2. “Edinburgh Used for ‘Killer Drone,’ Film,” BBC, Nov. 21, 2017, 

www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-42063742; Matt McFarland, “Slaughterbots, 

Film Shows Potential Horrors of Killer Drones,” CNN Business, Nov. 14, 2017; Lukas Mikelionis, 

“UC Berkley Professor’s ‘Slaughterbots’ Video on Killer Drones Goes Viral,” Fox News, Nov. 

21, 2017; “Military Robots are Getting More and More Capable,” The Economist, Jan. 21, 2018, 

www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2017/12/14/military-robots-are-getting-smaller-andmore-capable.

3. Future of Life Institute, Annual Report: 2018, https://futureoflife.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/02/2018-Annual-Report.pdf?x39107.

4. Lucien Crowder, “As Much Death As You Want: UC Berkeley’s Stuart Russell on 

‘Slaughterbots,’” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Dec. 5, 2017, 

https://thebulletin.org/2017/12/as-much-death-as-you-want-uc-berkeleys-stuart-russell-onslaughterbots.

5. Drone swarms “consist of multiple unmanned platforms and/or weapons deployed to 

accomplish a shared objective, with the platforms and/or weapons autonomously altering their 

behavior based on communication with one another.” Although “swarms” of independent, 

autonomous drones are also possible, drones used at scale are likely to require high degrees of 

autonomy and inter-drone communication to prevent accidents, facilitate operation, and achieve 

shared objectives. Zachary Kallenborn and Philipp Bleek, “Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms 

and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Weapons,” Nonproliferation Review, vol. 25, 

(January 2019), www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10736700.2018.1546902.

6. Department of Defense, “Department of Defense Announces Successful Micro-Drone 

Demonstration,” Jan. 9, 2017, www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-ReleaseView/Article/1044811/department-of-defense-announces-successful-micro-drone-demonstration.

7. Jason Le Miere, “Russia Developing Autonomous ‘Swarm of Drones’ in New Arms 

Race with U.S., China,” Newsweek, May 15, 2017, www.newsweek.com/drones-swarmautonomous-russia-robots-609399.

8. Timothy Chung, et al, “50 vs. 50 by 2015: Swarm vs. Swarm UAV Live-Fly 

Competition at the Naval Postgraduate School,” (Monterey, Calif.: Calhoun, The Naval 

Postgraduate School Institutional Archive, 2013), https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/36740424.pdf.

9. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, “Watch the Pentagon’s New Hive-Mind-Controlled Drone 

Swarm in Action,” Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2017, 

www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/01/10/watch-the-pentagons-new-hive-mindcontrolled-drone-swarm-in-action/?utm_term=.e32e66832ecc.10.

10. The section “Defining a Drone Swarm” is an excerpt from Zachary Kallenborn and 

Philipp C. Bleek, “Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, 

and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons,” vol. 25, no. 5-6 (2018) reprinted by permission of Taylor & 

Francis Ltd, www.tandfonline.com on behalf of Middlebury Institute of International Studies at 

Monterey, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

11. Drone swarms are not necessarily fully autonomous. Humans may still have some 

level of control such as approving firing decisions.
Kallenborn

32

12. The drones in the show were preprogrammed to form these shapes and did not 

communicate with one another. As such, they are not true drone swarms. However, the example 

illustrates what drone swarms could do. Brian Barrett, “Inside the Olympics Opening Ceremony 

World-Record Drone Show,” Wired, Feb. 9, 2018, www.wired.com/story/olympics-openingceremony-drone-show.

13. DOD, “Department of Defense Announces Successful Micro-Drone Demonstration.”

14. In general, a larger drone swarm offers more capability than a smaller one. However, 

the optimal size of the drone swarm will depend significantly on the mission and the capabilities 

of component drones.

15. Although the growth of computing power is likely to continue, the exact rate may 

slow if “Moore’s law” does not continue to hold. Peter J. Denning and Ted G. Lewis, 

“Exponential Laws of Computing Growth,” Communications of the ACM, vol. 60 (2017), pps. 54-

65, https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2017/1/211094-exponential-laws-of-computinggrowth/fulltext; Tom Simonite, “Moore’s Law Is Dead. Now What?” MIT Technology Review, 

May 13, 2016, www.technologyreview.com/s/ 601441/moores-law-is-dead-now-what; Lieven 

Eeckhout, “Is Moore’s Law Slowing Down? What’s Next?” IEEE Computer Society, July/August 

2017, pps. 4-5, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/25a9/5e08d0b56fefebed4c5418113146ea99376f.pdf.

16. Tradeoffs exist between payload capacity and flight endurance. On the same 

platform, increasing the payload capacity results in a decrease in flight endurance, while 

increasing flight endurance decreases payload capacity.

17. Among others, see Zachary Kallenborn, “The Era of the Drone Swarm is Coming, 

and We Need to Be Ready for It,” (West Point, N.Y.: Modern War Institute at West Point, United 

States Military Academy, Oct. 25, 2018), https://mwi.usma.edu/era-drone-swarm-coming-needready.

18. Axel Bürkle, Florian Segor, and Matthias Kollman, “Towards Autonomous Micro 

UAV Swarms,” Fraunhofer-Institut für Optronik, Systemtechnik und Bildauswertung, vol. 61, 

nos. 1-4, (2011), pps. 339-53, http://akmea2.iosb.fraunhofer.de/EatThisGoogleScholar/d/2011_Towards%20autonomous%20micro%20UA

V%20swarms.pdf.

19. The U.S. Navy recently tested a swarm of four drone boats, Jeremy Hsu, “US Navy’s 

Drone Boat Swarm Practices Harbor Defense,” IEEE Spectrum, Dec. 19, 2016, 

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/navy-drone-boat-swarm-practicesharbor-defense.

20. Nithin Mathews, Anders Lyhne Christensen, Rehan O’Grady, Francesco Mondada, 

and Marco Dorigo, “Mergeable Nervous System for Robots,” Nature Communications, vol. 8 

(2017), www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00109-2.

21. Milton B. Adams, Janet A. Lepanto, and Mark L. Hanson, “Mixed Initiative 

Command and Control of Autonomous Air Vehicles,” Journal of Aerospace Computing, 

Information, and Communication, vol. 2, no. 2 (February 2005), 

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/1.12963.

22. Amy Hocraffer and Chang S. Nam, “A Meta-analysis of Human-System Interfaces in 

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarm Management,” p. 66.

23. Ibid, p. 77
Drone Swarms

33

24. John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, Swarming and the Future of Conflict, (Santa 

Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, December 2000), p. vii

25. Ibid, p. 29

26. Jeremy Straub, “Analysis of Mutual Assured Destruction-like Scenario with Swarms 

of Non-Recallable Autonomous Robots,” Proceedings of the International Society for Optics and 

Photonics, May 23, 2015, 

http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=2300179; Kallenborn and 

Bleek, “Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms and CBRN Weapons.” 

27. Kallenborn and Bleek, “Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms and CBRN 

Weapons,” p. 20.

28. These three treaties are identified in W. Seth Carus, Defining ‘Weapons of Mass 

Destruction’,” (Washington, D.C.; Occasional Paper 8, National Defense University Press, 

January 2012), www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a577317.pdf.

29. “Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and other 

Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof,” 

May 18, 1972, www.state.gov/t/isn/5187.htm.

30. Mark Prigg, “Secret Pods Set to Hide Swarms of Hibernating US Navy Drones Deep 

Below the Sea,” DailyMail.com, May 13, 2016, www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article3589779/Secret-pods-hide-swarms-hibernating-war-drones-deep-sea.html; Zachary Kallenborn, 

“Swarming Sea Mines: Capital Capability?,” Center for International Maritime Security, Aug. 29, 

2017, http://cimsec.org/swarming-sea-mines-capital-capability/33836. Although the so-called 

Chinese “Great Underwater Wall of Robots” distributes sensors, nor drones, on the seabed, 

stationing drones on the seabed is certainly a plausible evolution of the concept. Jeffrey Lin and 

Peter W. Singer, “The Great Underwater Wall of Robots: Chinese Exhibit Shows Off Sea 

Drones,” Popular Science, June 22, 2016, www.popsci.com/great-underwater-wall-robotschinese-exhibit-shows-off-sea-drones.

31. United Nations, United Nation Treaties and Principles on Outer Space, 2002, 

www.unoosa.org/pdf/publications/STSPACE11E.pdf.

32. “Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist 

Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms,” Article V, Section 18, 

hosted by Federation of Atomic Scientists, 

https://fas.org/nuke/control/start1/text/start1.htm#ARTICLE5.

33. Peter W. Singer, “Wired for War: The Future of Military Robots,” Brookings 

Institute, Aug. 28, 2009, www.brookings.edu/opinions/wired-for-war-the-future-of-militaryrobots.

34. Stephen Goose, “The Growing International Movement Against Killer Robots,” 

Harvard International Review, Jan. 5, 2017, http://hir.harvard.edu/article/?a=14022.

35. James Ball, “Obama Issues Syria a ‘Red Line’ Warning on Chemical Weapons,” 

Washington Post, Aug. 20, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obamaissues-syria-red-line-warning-on-chemical-weapons/2012/08/20/ba5d26ec-eaf7-11e1-b811-

09036bcb182b_story.html?utm_term=.3b0a9e9a080a.

36. Robin Wright, “Trump Strikes Syria Over Chemical Weapons,” The New Yorker, 

April 13, 2018, www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-strikes-syriaand-russia-and-irannotonly-over-chemical-weapons.
Kallenborn

34

37 “Post-ABC Poll: US Involvement in Syria,” Washington Post, Dec. 20, 2012, 

www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/12/20/NationalPolitics/Polling/release_187.xml?tid=a_inl.

38. Ibid.

39. Ibid.

40. Carus, Defining ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction.

41. Ibid.

42. Ibid.

43. Al Mauroni, “Homeland Insecurity: Thinking about CBRN Terrorism,” Homeland 

Security Affairs, vol 6, no. 3, (September 2010).

44. Ibid, p. 36.

45. Carus, Defining ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction.

46. Susan B. Martin and Scott D. Sagan, “Correspondence: Responding to Chemical and 

Biological Threats,” International Security, vol. 25, no. 4 (2001), p. 198; Christian Enemark, 

“Farwell to WMD: The Language and Science of Mass Destruction,” Contemporary Security 

Policy, 2011, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13523260.2011.590362; Neil Narang, “All 

Together Now? Questioning WMDs as a Useful Analytical Unit for Understanding Chemical and 

Biological Weapons Proliferation,” Nonproliferation Review, vol. 22, (2015), 

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10736700.2016.1153184.

47. Michelle Bentley, “The Long Goodbye: Beyond an Essentialist Construction of 

WMD,” Contemporary Security Policy, vol. 33, (2012).

48. Public disinterest in international affairs is well-documented in a variety of sources. 

For example, a July 2017 poll found that less than half of the country could identify the current 

secretary of state and only 37 percent of the country could identify the president of France; Pew 

Research Center, “From Brexit to Zika: What do Americans Know?” July 25, 2017, www.peoplepress.org/2017/07/25/from-brexit-to-zika-what-do-americans-know.

49. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, “Who We Are,” accessed March 14, 2019, 

www.dtra.mil/About/Who-We-Are.

50. Department of Homeland Security, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, 

accessed March 14, 2019, www.dhs.gov/countering-weapons-mass-destruction-office.

51. Justin Bresolin, “Fact Sheet: The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction 

Program,” Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, June 2014, 

https://armscontrolcenter.org/fact-sheet-the-nunn-lugar-cooperative-threat-reduction-program.

52. Gerard J. Fitzgerald, “Chemical Warfare and Medical Response During World War 

I,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 98, (April 2008), 

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2376985.

53. U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Substance Name: Sarin,” Toxicology Data 

Network, accessed Feb. 2, 2018, https://chem.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/107-44-8.
Drone Swarms

35

54. Steven Lee Myers, “US Armed Forces to be Vaccinated Against Anthrax,” The New 

York Times, Dec. 16, 1997, www.nytimes.com/1997/12/16/us/us-armed-forces-to-be-vaccinatedagainst-anthrax.html.

55. Department of Defense, “Department of Defense Announces Successful Micro-Drone 

Demonstration.” 

56. Hsu, “US Navy’s Drone Boat Swarm Practices Harbor Defense.”

57. U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance (A2), “Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan: 2016-2036;” “Bridging the 

Gap Between Tactical and Strategic,” April 30, 2016, 

www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/isr/Small_UAS_Flight_Plan_2016_to_2036.pdf.

58. Elsa Kania, “Swarms at War: Chinese Advances in Swarm Intelligence,” the 

Jamestown Foundation, July 6, 2017, https://jamestown.org/program/swarms-war-chineseadvances-swarm-intelligence.

59. Ibid.

60. “Russia is Developing Artificial Intelligence for Military and Civilian Drones,” 

Russian News Agency TASS, May 15, 2017, http://tass.com/defense/945950.

61. Ben Sullivan, “The Islamic State Conducted Hundreds of Drone Strikes in Less than 

One Month,” Motherboard-Vice, Feb. 21, 2017, www.vice.com/en_us/article/vvxbp9/the-islamicstate-conducted-hundreds-of-drone-strikes-in-less-than-a-month.

62. “Gatwick Airport Police ‘Not Prepared for Two Drones,’” BBC, July 9, 2019, 

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex48929442?intlink_from_url=www.bbc.com/news/topics/cnx1xjxwp51t/gatwick-droneshutdown&link_location=live-reporting-story.

63. Chung, et al, “50 vs. 50 by 2015: Swarm vs. Swarm UAV Live-Fly Competition at 

the Naval Postgraduate School.”

64. David Reid, “A Swarm of Armed Drones Attacked a Russian Military Base in Syria,” 

CNBC, Jan. 11, 2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/01/11/swarm-of-armed-diy-drones-attacks-russianmilitary-base-in-syria.html.

65. Raf Sanchez, “Russia Uses Missiles and Cyber Warfare to Fight Off ‘Swarms of 

Drones’ Attacking Military Bases in Syria,” The Telegraph, Jan. 9, 2018, 

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/09/russia-fought-swarm-drones-attacking-military-basessyria.

66. Paul Scharre, “Robotics on the Battlefield Part II: The Coming Swarm,” Center for a 

New American Security, Oct. 15, 2014, 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_TheComingSwarm_Scharre.pdf?mtim

e=20160906082059. 

67. Ibid.

68. “Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of Aug. 12, 1949, and Relating to 

the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), June 8, 1977,” 

International Committee of the Red Cross, accessed Feb. 2, 2018, https://ihldatabases.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750073?OpenDocument.
Kallenborn

36

69. Stephen Lee, “Weapons of Mass Destruction: Are they Morally Special?” in Larry 

May, Eds., War: Essays in Political Philosophy, (Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press, 

2008), pps. 172-173.

70. C. A. J. Coady, “Natural Law and Weapons of Mass Destruction” in Sohail H. 

Hashmi and Steven P. Lee (eds), Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular 

Perspectives, (Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 119.

71. Grzegorz Chmaj and Henry Selvaraj, “Distributed Processing Applications for 

UAV/Drones: A Survey,” Progress in Systems Engineering, 2015, 

http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/43383445/Distributed_processing_application

s_for_20160305-17285-

18t45fu.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1493689945&Signatu

re=%2FaShcddl6qVkoGxU6Kn0fliyrO4%3D&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DDistributed_Processing_Applications_for.pdf.

72. Perry Hardin and Ryan Jensen, “Small-Scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in 

Environmental Remote Sensing: Challenges and Opportunities,” GIScience & Remote Sensing, 

vol. 48, (2011).

73. Ronald Arkin, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots, (Boca Raton, Fla.: 

Taylor and Francis Group Publishing, 2009), p. 45.

74. Ibid, pps. 57-67 and 115-124.

75. Noel Sharkey, “The Evitability of Autonomous Robot Warfare,” International 

Review of the Red Cross, vol. 94, (Summer 2012), www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/review/2012/irrc886-sharkey.pdf.

76. Arkin, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous, pps. 7-8.

77. Ibid.

78. Ibid, pps. 7-8.

79. Rebecca Crootof, “The Killer Robots are Here: Legal and Policy Implications,” 

Cardozo Law Review, 36:1837, (2015).

80. John Canning, et al, A Concept of Operations for Armed Autonomous Systems, 

(Anaheim, Calif.: Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, 2004).

81. Dana A. Shea and Sarah A. Lister, “The BioWatch Program: Detection of 

Bioterrorism,” Congressional Research Service, Nov. 19, 2003.

82. Richard T. Kouzes, Edward R. Siciliano, James H. Ely, Paul E. Keller, and Ronald J. 

McConn, “Passive Neutron Detection for Interdiction of Nuclear Materials at Borders,” Nuclear 

Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A. 584, Nos. 2-3 (2008), pps. 383-400.

83. Kallenborn and Bleek, “Swarming Destruction: Drone Swarms and Chemical, 

Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Weapons.” 

84. Department of Defense, Directive 3000.09: Autonomy in Weapon Systems.

85. Defense Science Board, “Report of the Defense Science Board Summer Study on 

Autonomy,” (Washington. D.C.: Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, June 2016), p. 1. 
Drone Swarms

37

86. M. L. Cummings and P. J. Mitchell, “Predicting Controller Capacity in Supervisory 

Control of Multiple UAVs,” IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics, vol. 38, (April 

2008).

87. Kallenborn, “The Era of the Drone Swarm is Coming.” 

88. Maaike Verbruggen, “The Question of Swarms Control: Challenges to Ensuring 

Human Control Over Military Swarms,” EU Nonproliferation and Disarmament Consortium: 

Nonproliferation and Disarmament Papers, Number 65, December 2019, 

www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/eunpdc_no_65_031219.pdf.

89. Zachary Kallenborn, “InfoSwarms: Drone Swarms and Information Warfare,” draft.

90. Chaitra Hardison, et al, Stress and Dissatisfaction in the Air Force’s Remotely Piloted 

Aircraft Community: Focus Group Findings, (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, 2017), 

www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1756.html.

91. Ibid.

92. Sun Tzu, The Art of War, translated by James Trapp, (New York, N.Y.: Chartwell 

Books, 2011).

93. Thomas K Adams, “Future Warfare and the Decline of Human Decisionmaking,” 

Parameters, Winter 2001, 

http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/parameters/Articles/01winter/adams.htm.

94. Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, “Country Views on Killer Robots,” Nov. 22, 2018, 

www.stopkillerrobots.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/KRC_CountryViews22Nov2018.pdf.

95 Scharre, “Robotics on the Battlefield Part II: The Coming Swarm.”

96. Department of Defense, Directive 3000.09: Autonomy in Weapon Systems, May 8, 

2017, www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/300009p.pdf.

97. Paul Scharre, “Autonomous Weapon and Operational Risk,” Center for a New 

American Security, February 2016, 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_Autonomous-weapons-operationalrisk.pdf.

98. Richard Danzig et al., Aum Shinrikyo: Insights Into How Terrorists Develop 

Biological and Chemical Weapons, 2nd Edition (Washington, D.C.: Center for New American 

Security, December 2012), accessed Jan. 16, 2017, 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/documents/CNAS_AumShinrikyo_SecondEdition_Engli

sh.pdf; Philipp C. Bleek, “Revisiting Aum Shinrikyo: New Insights into the Most Extensive NonState Biological Weapons Program to Date,” Nuclear Threat Initiative, Dec. 11, 2011, 

www.nti.org/analysis/articles/revisiting-aum-shinrikyo-new-insights-most-extensive-non-statebiological-weapons-program-date-1.

99. Seth Carus, “R.I.S.E.,” in Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological 

Weapons, edited by Jonathan B. Tucker. (Cambridge, Mass: Belfer Center for Science and 

International Affairs, 2000),

100. “Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report: Volume 2,” Oct. 29, 

1998, www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf.

101. “Kim Jong-nam: VX Dose Was ‘High and Lethal,’” BBC, Feb. 26, 2017, 

www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39096172.
Kallenborn

38

102. “Amerithrax Investigative Summary,” Department of Justice, Oct. 15, 2010, 

accessed Feb. 2, 2018, www.justice.gov/archive/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigativesummary2.pdf.

103. Heather Rosoff and Detlof von Winterfeldt, “A Risk and Economic Analysis of 

Dirty Bomb Attacks on the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” Risk Analysis, vol. 27, (2007), 

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5cc0/3b4436d06165aac72041315c824fbef44d5b.pdf.

104. John Gordan IV and John Matsumara, The Army’s Role in Overcoming Anti-Access 

and Area Denial Challenges, (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, 2013).

105. Stephen Buranyi, “Rise of the Racist Robots – How AI is Learning All Our Worst 

Impulses,” The Guardian, Aug. 8, 2017, www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/aug/08/rise-ofthe-racist-robots-how-ai-is-learning-all-our-worst-impulses.

106. Paul Scharre, “Counter-Swarm: A Guide to Defeating Robotic Swarms.”

107. Evan Ackerman, “Event Camera Helps Drone Dodge Thrown Objects,” IEEE

Spectrum, May 13, 2019, https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/drones/event-camerahelps-drone-dodge-thrown-objects.

108. Robert J. Bunker, Terrorist and Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, 

Potentials, and Military Implications, (Carlisle, Pa.: Army War College, Strategic Studies 

Institute, 2015).

109. Ibid; David Hastings Dunn, “Drones: Disembodied Aerial Warfare and the 

Unarticulated Threat,” International Affairs, vol. 89 (2013).

110. Ibid.

111. Zachary Kallenborn, “A New Age of Terror: New Mass Casualty Terrorism 

Threats,” U.S. Army Mad Scientist Laboratory, Sept. 26, 2019, 

https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/179-a-new-age-of-terror-new-mass-casualty-terrorism-threats.

112. Gregory D. Koblentz, Living Weapons: Biological Warfare and International 

Security, (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2011).

113. Ibid.

114. Hardin and Jensen, “Small-Scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Environmental 

Remote Sensing: Challenges and Opportunities.”

115. Scharre, “Counter-Swarm: A Guide to Defeating Robotic Swarms.”

116. Ibid.

117. Ibid.

118. Ibid.

119. Ibid.

120. Paul Scharre, “Why You Shouldn’t ‘Fear Slaughterbots,’” IEEE Spectrum, Dec. 22, 

2017, https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/why-you-shouldnt-fearslaughterbots.
Drone Swarms

39

121. Loc Pham, et al, “UAV Swarm Attack: Protection System Alternatives for 

Destroyers,” (Monterey, Calif.: Calhoun, The Naval Postgraduate School Institutional Archive,

2012).

122. Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Capability for Battalion-and-Below Operations, 

(Washington, D.C.: Consensus Report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

Medicine, National Academies Press, 2018) p. 1

123. Scharre, “Why You Shouldn’t ‘Fear Slaughterbots.’”

124. Arquilla and Ronfeldt, Swarming and the Future of Conflict.

125. “Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Capability for Battalion-and-Below Operations,” p. 9.

126. Arthur Holland Michel, “Counter-Drone Systems (2nd Edition),” Center for the 

Study of the Drone at Bard College, Dec. 2019, https://dronecenter.bard.edu/files/2019/12/CSDCUAS-2nd-Edition-Web.pdf

127. “Is Lithium-Ion the Ideal Battery?” Battery University, 

https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/is_lithium_ion_the_ideal_battery.

128. Sina Sharif Mansouri, Petros Karvelis, George Georgoulas, and George 

Nikolakopoulos, “Remaining Useful Battery Life Prediction for UAVs Based on Machine 

Learning,” IFAC-PapersOnLine, vol. 50, no. 1, (2017), www.divaportal.org/smash/get/diva2:1150694/FULLTEXT01.pdf.

129. “Flying Drones Could Soon Re-charge while Airborne with New Technology,” 

Science Daily, Oct. 20, 2016, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161020092110.htm.

130. Brian Argrow, Dale Lawrence, and Erik Rasmussen, “UAV Systems for Sensor 

Dispersal, Telemetry, and Visualization in Hazardous Environments,” 43rd American Institute of 

Aeronautics and Astronautics Airspace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Jan. 10-13, 2005, 

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2005-1237.

131. William J. Krondak, et al. “Unit Combat Power (and Beyond),” The International 

Symposium on Military Operational Research, August 2007.

132. Department of Defense Directive 3000.09, Autonomy in Weapon Systems.

133. Andrea Gilli and Mauro Gilli, “The Diffusion of Drone Warfare? Industrial, 

Organizational, and Infrastructural Constraints. Military innovations and the Ecosystem 

challenge,” Security Studies, vol. 25, no. 1 (2016).


USAF Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies

Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

Providing Research and Educa�on on 

WMD Threats and Response for the US Air Force