Weaponised drones have revolutionised warfare, enabling governments – and others – to kill at arm’s length without warning. But drones are just part of an arsenal of next-generation weaponry whose very presence gives new impetus to conflict, from canine war droids to autonomous battle systems and beyond.

Arthur Snell takes us from the 1991 Gulf War and the Highway of Death to 9/11 and the rise of asymmetric warfare – to discover how we opened a Pandora’s Box of new and lethal technology.

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• “Anyone can buy a surprisingly powerful drone on Amazon… and they’re being used in warfare now.” – Ulrike Franke
• “All future conflicts will be drone conflicts. The drone will always get through.” – James Rogers
• “If you rewrite the rules so that you can strike anyone on a faraway battlefield, you can’t be surprised when others do the same to you.” – Arthur Snell

Photograph: Getty Images

Written and presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Assistant producer: Jacob Archbold. Original music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com . Group Editor Andrew Harrison. Doomsday Watch is a Podmasters production.

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