Take the Drone Rorschach Test

Drones are increasingly transforming warfare and their emerging use as a tactical and strategic weapon has long-term ramifications for policy. For instance, the use of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones helped define the U.S. role in Afghanistan, a role that is now apparently coming to an end. At the same time countries such as Iran are now exporting kamikaze and surveillance drones to their proxies and allies in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Pro-Iranian militias have been carrying out drone attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq in recent months. This illustrates how unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming a dominant factor in many conflicts, from clashes in the Gaza Strip to Azerbaijan. 

The rapid deployment of drones in war and the expansion of the market for military drones have led to a system of drone alliances. In many ways, this is similar to how U.S. and Soviet military technology was exported to allies during the Cold War. The difference today is that the growth of drone…