Defense & Security — item 13 of 20

Unmanned Systems & Drones

Sourced Tracked by SIPRI's Arms Transfers Database (TIV — Trend Indicator Value), which categorizes and values international transfers of major conventional weapons, including unmanned systems and drones, across all reporting countries. SIPRI

Unmanned systems & drones sit within Defense & Security, the sector protecting the conditions under which every other endeavor on this list can function at all — a category with a real, cited scale: $2,887B in world military expenditure, 2025 (SIPRI). Unmanned systems & drones are one of 18 of the category's 20 items directly backed by SIPRI's tracked databases — arms transfers, the Top 100 arms-producing companies, military expenditure, and nuclear forces, rather than an editorial judgment call.

In this category

Unmanned systems & drones are 1 of 20 items in Defense & Security. See the full ranked list, or browse all 20 Human Endeavors categories.