Attack drones are becoming the new AK-47s and reshaping global warfare

Résumé détaillé

The AK-47 assault rifle was developed after the Second World War by Soviet soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947

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One of the deadliest attacks on Israel in 2024 came not from an Iranian missile or rocket, but from a single Hezbollah drone attack. On October 13, 2024, a drone struck the dining hall of a military base near Binyamina, south of Haifa, as Israeli soldiers were eating. It killed four people and injured 67.

Houthi rebels have been using drones to attack airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, causing havoc in the Gulf kingdom. Israel and Saudi Arabia are two wealthy countries and have powerful militaries and sophisticated air defences. Hezbollah and the Houthis have far fewer resources. But drone attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in their defence.

These attacks suggest that armed drones could follow the AK-47’s path, becoming widely available to non-state armed groups and reshaping the balance of military power.

The AK-47 is claimed to be the deadliest weapon of all time. A report for the World Bank in 2006 found that nearly one in five firearms in circulation worldwide – 100 million – were Kalashnikovs. And 75% of those were AK-47s.

The assault rifle was developed after the Second World War by Soviet soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov. While recovering from wartime injuries, he heard fellow soldiers complain that their rifles were inferior to German weapons and set out to design a better one. In 1947, after several unsuccessful attempts, he developed the Avtomat Kalashnikova (Kalashnikov’s automatic) and named it after himself and the year he designed it.

The AK-47 and its variants became some of the world’s most widely produced firearms, used by armies, guerrilla groups, insurgents and criminal organisations. The rifle’s global popularity came from the fact that they are cheap to produce, easy to operate and maintain, and are reliable in harsh conditions.

The AK-47 spread rapidly, particularly during the cold war, as the Soviet Union supplied its…

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