UAVs in Naval Warfare Law and Fundamental Principles of Humanitarian Law

The developments of naval technologies have combined modern naval wars. Nowadays, naval warfare means the use of tactics and the conduct of military operations on, below, or above the sea. An exemplar of a tactical tool is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in naval operations. Undoubtedly, the use of UAVs in naval conflict can raise a number of issues related to the law of naval warfare. The lack of specific treaties on their use at the sea has caused a legal gap and some ambiguities. Therefore, this paper aims to determine whether UAVs can be used within the framework of the rules governing the law of naval warfare and the basic principles of the humanitarian law. This paper also aims to analyze the capacity of the existing rules to employ UAVs in the naval warfare. For this purpose, a descriptive analytical research method was used along with a desk method for data collection. According to the research findings, international treaties and customary laws, especially the humanitarian law, are not indifferent to the legal status of UAVs, despite the air and missile war guidelines as well as the Sun Guidelines in particular. They are not binding documents. In fact, they have amended and revised the law of naval warfare in accordance with the rules of the humanitarian law. Hence, they can be applied to UAVs.