Due to both the growing number of military operations carried out by unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) and the increase in production of UCAVs, a response of the international community is imperative. But what is the adequate reaction on this futuristic drone technology? After pointing out the danger of the trend to full autonomy of UCAVs and existing initiatives against such a development, this paper turns the spotlight to Public International Law and the question whether a general prohibition of UCAV missions already exists. Furthermore, it describes effective steps for the inclusion of UCAVs in existing treaty regimes like the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Arms Trade Treaty. The article concludes that disarmament measures and arms control instruments already exist. They only have to be used by the international community to guarantee operative global control of UCAVs.
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