With war and fears of assassinations of leaders growing, more countries are sweeping personal drones from the skies altogether. Rather than sorting out dangerous craft one by one, countries are eliminating civilian flights themselves, shifting to a posture that classifies any aircraft aloft without authorization as an immediate threat to be countered.
In the Middle East, where armed clashes between the United States and Iran have spread, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have banned drone operations across their territories since March, when the war broke out. China has blocked even the sale and bringing in of drones in the capital Beijing as of May this year. Russia, starting last month, restricted drone flight altitudes around Moscow to above 5,200 meters, unreachable for ordinary civilian drones. In addition, Israel's security cabinet is considering a plan to ban personal drone flights nationwide for six months, Israel Hayom and others reported on the 19th local time.
According to major Israeli outlets that day, the Israeli cabinet began reviewing the ban in response to security agencies' warnings that "civilian drones could be used for assassinating senior figures and attacking military facilities." The proposed ban under review would drive out personally launched drones from Israeli airspace until a new oversight regime is in place. Local media said that after the ban takes effect, those caught flying civilian drones would first face fines, and repeated unauthorized flights would be punished as criminal offenses.
The Israeli cabinet cited as the regulatory basis that drones are inexpensive and easy to obtain, and can be fitted with explosives and cameras for reconnaissance and attacks. If civilian drones are also flying during war, air defenses must distinguish hostile craft from hobby craft one by one. Israel judged it could ease this burden by treating all unauthorized drones as potential threats. Ynet, Israel's largest online outlet, quoted a senior Israeli official, who requested anonymity, as saying, "To be honest, this is a very serious threat for which we currently have no solution."
Middle Eastern countries imposed drone bans immediately after the Iran war broke out. Qatar has indefinitely banned drone operations nationwide, regardless of model, size or purpose, since March 1. Kuwait blocked drone flights and aerial photography two days later. Bahrain also announced in the same month that it would intercept and destroy unauthorized drones. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted commercial and recreational drone operations nationwide at the end of February, then began easing the restrictions in phases starting on the 30th of last month.
Governments see a high potential that, if civilian drones are left unchecked, they could be misused for assassinating leaders or for terror attacks on random crowds. There is already a long list of instances where small drones targeted national leaders. In Aug. 2018 in Caracas, Venezuela, two drones carrying explosives detonated during President Nicolás Maduro's speech. In Nov. 2021, two armed drones struck the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. In May 2023, after two drones exploded over Russia's Kremlin, Russia claimed it was an attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. In Oct. 2024, a drone from Lebanon rushed toward the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Netanyahu couple were not home at the time, so there were no casualties.
Last month, a plot to use a drone carrying explosives and a sniper to target a UFC mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn timed to the 250th Independence Day celebration was foiled. Suspects allegedly discussed attacking the north side of the White House with a drone to herd attendees to a specific exit, where a pre-positioned sniper would open fire on random people. President Donald Trump and senior government officials attended the event that day. A U.S. federal grand jury indicted eight people in connection with the case this month.
As the Ukraine war dragged on, Russia blocked even civilian low-altitude flights to protect the capital and its leader. The Financial Times (FT) recently reported that President Putin has tightened security mindful of Ukraine's drone attacks and the possibility of assassination. In fact, starting on the 20th of last month, Russian aviation authorities raised the minimum flight altitude for drones and light aircraft to 5,200 meters in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and adjacent regions such as Ryazan, Tula and Kaluga. Ordinary drones or light aircraft currently in development cannot reach that height due to technical limits. Experts, citing this, assessed it as "effectively a blanket ban on flights in the capital region." The Kremlin denied fears of a Putin assassination but acknowledged that it had "raised security levels in preparation for terror threats originating from Ukraine." Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the 14th, "In one day, 340 drones flew toward the Moscow area," adding, "We shot down more than 50 of them."
Beijing cut off the path to buying drones in the first place. Starting in May, the Beijing municipal government designated the entire city as controlled airspace for drones, requiring prior approval for any outdoor flight. Going further, it banned selling or renting drones and core components in the city, and blocked transporting or carrying drones into Beijing from outside. Existing owners can store drones only after real-name registration and government verification. Even so, last month a two-seat light aircraft crashed into China Zun, Beijing's tallest building, killing the pilot and injuring 13 people on the ground. Experts said this laid bare the fact that drone regulations alone cannot close all security gaps. Chinese authorities halted recreational light aircraft operations nationwide immediately after the accident.
Until recently, most countries' drone policies were closer to filtering out dangerous craft through registration and remote identification devices. But as war and assassination threats grew, the trend shifted to blocking civilian flights first. Some, however, warned that the tougher the rules get, the more industries reliant on drones—such as delivery, agriculture, filming and disaster rescue—could stall together.
Taking related industries into account, the Israeli cabinet is also reviewing a plan to build a new oversight regime during the six-month ban and then allow personal drone flights again. Eitan Eshel, executive vice president for technology and research and development at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), said at a conference last month, "Drones are hard to detect and identify, and as a result, they are hard to intercept," adding, "Future responses will combine detection equipment with radar, electro-optics and artificial intelligence (AI)."