Signal Non-state groups conducting drone attacks rise from 6 to 91

Summary

This signal tracks how cheap military technology is shifting power toward armed groups outside state control. UNDP reports that the number of non-state groups carrying out drone attacks climbed from 6 in 2018 to 91 in 2023. It presents this as evidence that asymmetric warfare tools are empowering non-state actors. The trend sits alongside other shifts in conflict, including information warfare waged with deepfakes and AI-generated propaganda, and a race to bring AI into military decision-making. As a result, violence increasingly unfolds outside traditional frameworks of war, making conflicts harder to contain and raising concerns about civilian protection and international law.