On June 1, 2025, Ukraine launched its most ambitious drone offensive against Russia, called Operation Spiderweb. This meticulously coordinated strike targeted multiple Russian airbases across vast distances, inflicting nearly $7 billion in damages and significantly degrading Russia’s long-range strike capability. The operation has established drone warfare as a defining feature of 21st-century conflict, with profound implications for international law and security strategy.

Similarly, India’s Operation Sindoor in May 2025 marked a critical turning point in South Asia’s drone landscape. Launched in response to a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the operation aimed to dismantle cross-border terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Together, these operations raise an urgent question: how is drone warfare regulated under international law, and what should be India’s path forward in this increasingly contested aerial domain?