Rising prevalence of drone attacks in warfare and terrorism and the implications for medical management of major incidents.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

As drone technology advances, the likelihood of their use in terrorism increases. The emergence of artificial intelligence-controlled drone swarms and ability to carry alternative payloads poses significant challenges and risks to civilians and emergency services, and the injury patterns observed from explosive device-equipped drones tend to affect predominantly the head and neck, chest and upper limbs. Emergency services are currently unprepared for such an incident in the UK.