By Cassell Bryan-Low LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Naval drones have been used in at least two attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf region since war erupted between the U.S., Israel and Iran, according to maritime authorities and analysts,

New research was motivated by "high-potential societal impacts" of successfully disabling autonomous drones, a study author told Military.com.

Defense expert Cameron Chell analyzed Saturday's sweeping military campaign against Iran that combined precision strikes with kamikaze drones in a coordinated U.S.-Israel operation.

Iraqi Kurds are presently relying on American air defenses at Erbil airport that are providing critical area defense for the capital and sizable swathes of their region.

The rapid spread of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has created a major challenge