Medact has built on the success of the 2012 report in raising awareness on the physical and psychological harm of drone warfare by publishing a 2013 update. The update focuses on new areas including the increasing civilian use of drones for a variety of uses, and calls for a demarcation of funding in UK universities between military and civilian research spending. The report also updates and focuses on the expansion of armed and surveillance drone use around the globe, and charts the technological breakthroughs that have occurred in the industry. Technological developments in autonomy, range, stealth and other areas highlight the growing need for state consensus on the use of drones. The update also draws attention to two new reports by UN special rapporteurs on the subject of international law and the use of drones. The report updates the number of strikes that have occurred, civilian death and injury figures as well as the number of mission hours flown. Further, the report highlights new research competed on the post-traumatic stress syndrome experienced by individuals and communities that live under the threat of drone strikes.
