Australian Defence Force 20 years behind US in preparing for drone-based warfare, expert says

Peter W Singer, a strategist at the New America Foundation and former senior fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, said 80 different countries already equipped their militaries with drones, plus they were being used by non-state actors like Islamic State, paparazzi and farmers. He said the human role in controlling drones was also changing. "They can do things like take off and land on their own, fly mission waypoints on their own, ID targets on their own," he said.