Drones have fundamentally changed the economics of warfare. For much of the Global War on Terror, the US enjoyed an overwhelming technological advantage, using drones for surveillance and targeted strikes with little fear that adversaries could respond in kind. That era is over.
Faine Greenwood is a journalist, researcher, and one of the country’s leading experts on drone technology and policy. Rather than approaching drones solely as military hardware, Faine studies how they are reshaping disaster response, public safety, surveillance, privacy, and increasingly, modern warfare. Their work has appeared in WIRED, Slate, and The Atlantic.
In this conversation, we discussed how the war in Ukraine has transformed military doctrine, why inexpensive commercial drones have become some of the most important weapons on the battlefield, and what it means when technologies once reserved for the world’s most powerful militaries become available to almost anyone.
Shout out to @antiheirarchist.bsky.social for matchmaking this episode.
Going Further & Related Episodes
- Faine’s Map of Civilian Drone Attacks
- The Ocean Isn’t Wide Enough – Takes & Typos
- How Ukraine is pushing back Russia with bomber drones – Kyiv Independent
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