The drone has transformed modern warfare. Unmanned aerial vehicles offer militaries the ability to strike at distance, gather intelligence, and project power without putting pilots at risk. They have become a fixture of contemporary conflict. Pakistan has invested significantly in drone technology and, during the May 2025 military operations, employed drones on a substantial scale. What is deeply troubling, however, is not the use of drones per se but the locations from which they were reportedly launched—civilian areas, civil airports, and sites adjacent to schools.
On the nights of 08 and 09 May 2025, Pakistan reportedly launched numerous drones towards India. The launch infrastructure was reportedly situated within or adjacent to civilian zones. One launch site was identified near a government girls’ high school in Jandrot, Kotli, in PoJ&K. Another was located at Padhar in the Havelian District of PoJ&K. Civil airports at Sialkot and Islamkot were also reportedly used as drone-launching hubs.
Drone launch sites are, by definition, military installations the moment they are activated for offensive operations. The personnel operating the drones, the equipment used to control them, the fuel and maintenance infrastructure — all of these constitute military assets and, under the laws of armed conflict, legitimate military targets. By situating these assets within civilian areas, Pakistan’s military places the surrounding population at risk of becoming collateral casualties in the event of any retaliatory action.
The proximity of a launch site to a girls’ school is particularly egregious. Schools are explicitly protected under international humanitarian law. Even if military operations are conducted nearby rather than within the school itself, the school and its students are exposed to heightened danger. A retaliatory strike on the launch site could easily result in damage to or casualties within the school. This risk was created entirely by Pakistan’s military’s choice of location.
The scale of the drone operations reportedly conducted during Bunyan um Marsoos—numerous launches on consecutive nights—suggests that this was a sustained, organised military campaign.
The infrastructure required for such operations does not appear overnight. It requires planning, logistics, and advance preparation. The use of civilian airports and school-adjacent sites was therefore not improvised — it was a deliberate operational decision made during the planning phase of the operation.
As drone warfare becomes an increasingly central feature of modern military operations, the norms governing where drones can be launched, maintained, and controlled will become ever more important. Pakistan’s reported conduct during May 2025 sets a troubling precedent—one that, if allowed to stand without accountability, risks normalising the use of civilian infrastructure as military launch platforms in future conflicts.