The Afghan

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the attacks on The Saudi oil facilities have led to speculation that armed Drones were involved.

say for Both the United States and the Saudi authorities, this may well be the case.

The offensive use of Drones , or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown considerably in the last few years, and nowhere more than in the Middle East .

So who has you and who has you in the fight?

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The First combat use of an armed drone came in October 2001, on The First night of The War in Afghanistan against a Taliban Convoy .

China has become a major exporter of Drones in the Middle East

Armed UAVs were initially the preserve of a few technologically advanced Nations, with Israel and the United States very much in The Lead .

Soon a new provider came on The Scene - China, eager to sell their weapons around The World .

The Chinese have reinforced the proliferation of military Drones in the Middle East , the sale of weapons to at least half a dozen governments.

The civilian UAV market has also becoming more sophisticated, and the technology was transformed into the battle-Drones .

While the technology may not be Cutting Edge , powerful Drones can be produced by any country with a reasonable industrial base, Iran is a good example of this.

And Iran played a crucial role in the transfer of relatively highly developed drone technology, multiple non-state actors, such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Who has what?

The Middle East is one of the epicenters of The War on terror. It has logically advanced Players , like the United States , Britain and Russia. drawn in techno

There are a variety of regional rivalries. The pronounced fault-line between Israel and the Arab States of The Gulf on The One hand, and Iran , its allies and proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis on The Other .

USA

The United States has used armed Drones extensively in the Middle East , as part of its campaign against al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic state (IS).

weapons such as The Predator and Reaper Drones have been used against targets In Syria , Iraq, Libya, and Yemen.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a larger, heavier and more powerful aircraft than The Predator , capable of a much larger weapons payload with a much longer range.

As one of Washington's closest military ally, the United Kingdom, A Number of Reaper bought systems from the United States , and operated, the you comprehensively against is targets in both Iraq and Syria.

of Israel

Long-recognized as one of The Pioneers in the UAV technology, Israel is one of the largest exporters of unarmed Drones , accounting - according to a 2018 study - over 60% of the global market.

For other customers, and has sold surveillance Drones to Russia, and has himself shot at least one down if it crossed into Israeli territory from Syria.

Israel uses missions a varied fleet of UAVs for intelligence, surveillance, and attack.

The Armed Drones belong to the Heron TP, Hermes 450 and Hermes 900.

But Israel has been reluctant to export armed Drones .

Iran has its own UAV technology, Iran

in Spite of the arms embargo and sanctions has developed, Iran has to build a capacity to be reasonably sophisticated armed UAVs.

The Shahed-129 was unveiled in the year 2012 and was used to hit, and targets In Syria and Iraq. The Mohajer 6 has been in production since 2018.

But The Other aspect of the Iranian drone program is to sell the willingness or transfer, its technology, its allies and proxies in the region.

Other countries

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deployed a fleet of Chinese-supplied Wing-Loong 1 UAV, which have been used against targets in Yemen and Civil War in Libya.

The UAE is supporting the group, under the leadership of General Haftar. Turkish Drones were used in Libya, to support the government of National Consensus.

Not to buy American Drones , which Turkey is building his own, which were used in the attacks on Kurdish targets both in Turkey and In Syria .

Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia , Egypt, and Algeria have all purchased Chinese UAVs.

The United States is accusing Iran of supplying the Houthi rebels with Drones , Use of militant groups

Houthi-rebels to the skill test, the UAV-users among the non-state actors. They operate A Number of systems, which depends, according to the United Nations and other experts, strongly of Iranian technology. The Houthis have the Qasef-1, defined by a UN panel of experts, is almost identical to the Iranian model.

These are effectively "Drones kamikaze", " to be deliberately crashed into their targets. A subsequent UN report emphasized the Houthis' use of a more sophisticated UAV, the X-drone, sometimes called the Samad-2/3, which is believed to be a small explosive warhead.

the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah operated a small number of what to be Iran seem to be the Israeli-supplied Drones .

The War In Syria , The First significant use of Drones in a swarm attack to overwhelm anti-air to saw. The rebels were multiple Drones in large Russian military bases In Syria .

What are the consequences for the region?

It is clear that armed drone technology has become widespread.

Paradoxically, to sell US restraint, advanced UAV, its allies, not the possibility of Drones has far-proliferation, because China has strengthened in the marketing of its largely equivalent technology.

With drone attacks on targets has helped to open a new way of fighting, blurring The Line between war and peace.

UAVs have the potential to strike have offered precise targets with limited side effects (at least if The Intelligence to guide you right).

The Armed drone, or UAV seemed tailor-made for the so-called war on terror. But it was also tailor-made for the nature of the unequal fighting in the region between technologically advanced and less advanced Players .

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Source of news: bbc.com