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One of the deadliest attacks on Israel in 2024 came not from an Iranian missile or rocket, but from a single Hezbollah drone attack. On October 13, 2024, a drone struck the dining hall of a military base near Binyamina, south of Haifa, as Israeli soldiers were eating. It killed four people and injured 67.
Houthi rebels have been using drones to attack airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, causing havoc in the Gulf kingdom. Israel and Saudi Arabia are two wealthy countries and have powerful militaries and sophisticated air defences. Hezbollah and the Houthis have far fewer resources. But drone attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in their defence.
These attacks suggest that armed drones could follow the AK-47’s path, becoming widely available to non-state armed groups and reshaping the balance of military power.
The AK-47 is claimed to be the deadliest weapon of all time. A report for the World Bank in 2006 found that nearly one in five firearms in circulation worldwide – 100 million – were Kalashnikovs. And 75% of those were AK-47s.
The assault rifle was developed after the Second World War by Soviet soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov.
