EDITOR'S NOTES: 'Drone' Warfare Is Not Just in the Skies

Published on February 13, 2024



Drone:
1: a stingless male bee (as of the honeybee) that has the role of mating with the queen and does not gather nectar or pollen
2: an uncrewed aircraft or vessel guided by remote control or onboard computers
—Merriam-Webster

It doesn’t seem that long ago when the word “drone” in military parlance simply meant an “unmanned aerial vehicle.” The word is of course derived from apiculture — the science of beekeeping — and fit well for the early versions of UAVs that weren’t as sophisticated as today’s models.

There was a time during the so-called global war on terror years when left-wing groups such as Code Pink used it as a pejorative as they sought to highlight civilian deaths resulting from CIA-led Predator strikes in hard-to-reach spots such as Pakistan’s tribal territories. “Drone” for a time began taking on a decidedly negative connotation in some quarters.

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