Beware Blue Skies:
The Psychology of Drone Warfare

Part of the War and the Mind exhibition at IWM London, Beware Blue Skies is a short immersive film installation reflecting the psychological experience of drone warfare.

Drones have changed how people experience warfare.  The psychological impact on those controlling the drones from afar and those on the ground whom they target is immense.  

Although drone operators are physically distant, they see close-up the people they survey and the people they kill, often in graphic detail. The impact of their decisions can lead to legal and ethical dilemmas. Meanwhile, those who are below may not see the drones above them, but they often hear them. The constant threat from the sky leads many to experience chronic anxiety and stress which can cause sleep disturbance and nightmares. 

Beware Blue Skies is based on eyewitness testimonies and research undertaken by Dr Beryl Pong at the Centre for Drones and Culture. It depicts the experience of both the drone operators, controlling them from afar, and those on the ground, often civilians, who have been subject to the destruction caused by drone strikes.

Beware Blue Skies has been made in collaboration with:

• University of York
• Sheffield Hallam University 
• University of Sheffield 
• UK Research and Innovation 
• University of Cambridge
• Human Studio 
• Centre for Drones and Culture