In April 2016, on what seemed like just another day in the 30-year Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an Armenian military transport was trundling along close to the Azerbaijan frontier.
Unknown to the soldiers seated within, an Israeli-made Harop “suicide drone” was lazily loitering above, hovering, waiting for the moment to crash into the vehicle. When it did, seven men were dead before they knew what hit them.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not one that grabs many international headlines, but is illustrative of the growing reach and potency of unmanned aerial vehicles—or UAVs—which can be found on every inhabited continent, fielded by states from superpowers like the U.S. down to geopolitical minnows like Azerbaijan.
In drone technology—for export especially—Israeli companies have fast become world-leaders. Whether for reconnaissance or combat, military, police and paramilitary units all over the world are keen customers. But the so-called suicide drone—or "loitering munitions"—industry is growing, with Israeli tech at the forefront.
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