Broderick McDonald
The lightning offensive which toppled the Assad regime and captured Damascus in less than two weeks has shocked observers both inside and outside Syria. While the rapid progress of the offensive was primarily the result of the professionalisation of the main rebel force and the inherent weakness of the regime and its allies, new advanced drones and specialised units played important roles in bolstering the advance. This Insight examines the development and strategic use of these drones by the largest and most powerful rebel force in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The new wave of drones deployed by HTS during the offensive included both short-range kamikaze FPV drones and larger long-range rocket-propelled UAVs that are believed to travel up to 50km and carry significantly largely payloads. These kamikaze FPV drones enabled HTS and its allies to accurately strike tanks, artillery positions, and individuals behind enemy lines and were akin to similar models used in Ukraine and other conflicts. The larger rocket-propelled UAVs enabled the group to reach far behind enemy lines and destroy regime command centres and other hardened targets with larger payloads than was previously possible. While other rebel groups have made use of FPV drones, including the Syrian National Army (SNA), which also participated in the recent offensive, none matched the sophistication of HTS. The use of armed consumer drones is not new to Syria, which saw the first widespread use of them by ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra during the early days of the civil war. However, the variation and capabilities of the drones used have become more sophisticated in the past five years. What began as the modification of primarily consumer off-the-shelf drones used to drop grenades and other small explosives has expanded significantly.
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