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How Were Drones Used During WWI and WWII?

Military drones as we know them actually originated more than a century ago.

The Kettering Bug, one of the earliest combat drones, inspired the UAVs that flew in World War II and beyond. [Courtesy: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]
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Key Takeaways:

  • Drones are fundamentally transforming modern warfare, playing a pervasive role in current conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war for combat, surveillance, and logistics.
  • The concept of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) originated over a century ago, progressing from early military balloons in the 19th century to the development of the first radio-controlled aircraft and "flying bombs" during World War I.
  • Significant advancements during the interwar period and World War II, including the mass production of target drones (like the "Queen Bee" which popularized the term "drone") and the deployment of the first operational cruise missiles (such as Germany's V-1 and V-2), laid the crucial foundations for today's drone technology.
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War isn’t waged like it once was. In Russia and Ukraine, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are shifting the tides of battle. And in the era of social media and mass communication, their use for combat, surveillance, logistics, and more has been well documented.

Recently, drones have dominated coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, epitomized by last week’s media storm around Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and the Kremlin. We take those capabilities for granted today—they’re just a feature of war. But plenty of active service members were alive during a time when today’s UAVs were inconceivable.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.

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