BBC news reported today that a US drone strike had specifically targeted the individual known as ‘Jihadi John’ — a British citizen who joined ISIS and carried out a series of brutal executions which were shown in propaganda videos.
This type of individual action takes a lot of resources when there are only a small number of Reaper and Predator strike drones available — there are a total of 65 combat air patrols (continuous missions) globally, and it may require more than one to carry out a mission. As discussed in Swarm Troopers, the availability of large numbers of small, cheap drones operating in swarms would change the situation completely. It would not just be a matter of targeting a few big names in the insurgency, but attacking every single identified insurgent with their own personal drone strike.
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