Kamikaze Drones

Why in news?

• Ukraine’s capital region was struck by Iranian-made kamikaze drones recently.

About Kamikaze Drones:

• These are small unmanned aircraft packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
• The name comes from the World War 2 era’s feared Japanese kamikaze pilots, who conducted suicide attacks by intentionally crashing their explosive filled aircraft into enemy targets.
• The modern drone versions have the capability of surpassing traditional defences to strike their targets and are also cheaper than their larger counterparts. The small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and through the use of facial recognition, can be programmed to hit targets without human intervention.

Countries possessing such drones:

• US Kamikaze is the most advanced in this class of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some versions of it.

PRACTICE QUESTION

‘Kamikaze Drones’, widely discussed in news, is used for the purpose of:

(a) Military Combat

(b) Weather Forecast

(c) Disaster Management

(d) Precision Agriculture

Answer