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How did ISIS use commercial drones during the Battle of Mosul?
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air warfare
Overview of aerial bombardment in Europe during World War II, with a detailed discussion of the Battle of Britain.
During the battle for Mosul (2016–2017), ISIS utilized commercially available drones to conduct direct strike missions against Iraqi forces by dropping small munitions on them.1
This tactic represented one of the earliest large-scale military adaptations of off-the-shelf drone technology by a non-state actor. Beyond these offensive strikes, such groups have generally adapted commercial quadcopters and fixed-wing drones for a variety of purposes, including reconnaissance, surveillance of enemy positions, coordination of attacks, and the dissemination of propaganda. The use of these low-cost systems has allowed non-state actors to participate in air warfare in unprecedented ways, disrupting traditional military asymmetries.12