HISTORIAN
POLICY ADVISER
AUTHOR
BROADCASTER
FEATURED MEDIA WORK & PUBLICATIONS
TV & PUBLIC SPEAKING
James Patton Rogers, drone adviser to NATO and the UK, and General Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, join Christiane Amanpour to discuss how drones are being utilised in Ukraine's counteroffensive. Full Interview HERE
From weaponized consumer quadcopters to loitering munitions that can cause devastation from nearly a thousand miles away, UN, NATO and UK Parliament drone advisor Dr James Rogers breaks down the role drones are playing in the war in Ukraine. Full video HERE
In this documentary, James visits Esbjerg harbour on the west coast of Denmark, where around 300 bunkers, concrete roads, canons, railroads, anti-armoured vehicle trenches, personnel buildings and mines were established. He is joined by Danish World War Two historian Rune Edberg who shows him around some of these impressive fortifications and explains the history behind the construction of Hitler's infamous Atlantic Wall. Link HERE.
The Atlantic Wall is one of the biggest construction projects in history. Dan speaks to Dr James Rogers about how and why the Atlantic Wall was built, Hitler's obsession with it, how effective it was and whether it could have ever been successful against an allied invasion. Link HERE.
James worked as an expert historical consultant to the new History Channel series 'Secret Wars Uncovered'. He also appeared in many of the series episodes as an expert talking head on the history of weapons and war. The show was broadcast in the summer/autumn 2020. Link HERE.
James explains to Dan Snow for History Hit TV how we can draw parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the Second World War, particularly in how humans have responded to an extraordinary challenge. Link HERE.
James acted as a consultant on drones and terrorism to Windfall Productions on this program and he appears as a drone expert alongside the explorer/presenter Aldo Kane. The documentary was broadcast in the fall of 2019. Link HERE.
Drone technologies are spreading fast! In this TedX talk Dr James Rogers, an expert on drone warfare, argues that anyone can now turn an off the shelf quadcopter into an airborne IED.
Link HERE.
James appeared as a talking head on Viral Histories TV. James was interviewed by the award-winning filmmaker Paul Bradshaw about his work on the history of American warfare. The episode was filmed on location at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire.
Link HERE.
SELECTED INTERVIEWS AND COMMENTARY.
THE SUNDAY TIMES: HOW ACCURATE IS MUNICH THE EDGE OF WAR (2022)
James speaks with Susannah Butter from the Sunday Times about how accurate the new Netflix film 'Munich: The Edge of War' really is. Link HERE:
BBC RADIO: WWII BOMB ON GOOLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT TO BE DETONATED (2021)
James spoke with BBC Radio Humberside about the history of WW2 bombing on the North East of the UK in light of a recently discovered Second World War bomb.
REUTERS: YEMEN HOUTHI DRONES (2019)
James explains the impact that the global spread of drones is having on international security. Link HERE:
SELECTED POLICY PUBLICATIONS
PODCASTS & RADIO
From Napoleonic battles to Cold War confrontations, the Normandy landings to 9/11, this podcast opens up fascinating new perspectives on how wars have shaped and changed our modern world. Each week, twice a week, war historian, writer, and broadcaster, James Rogers, teams up with fellow historians, veterans, and experts to reveal astonishing new histories of inspirational leadership, breakthrough technologies, and era-defining battles. Together they highlight the stark realities and consequences of global warfare. Join us on the front line of military history. Link HERE.
With the growing use of drones in conflicts across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, James was asked on to BBC Radio 4's The Briefing Room with David Arronavich. James worked with the BBC to research the episode, select guests and provided expert commentary on the past, present and future of drone warfare.
The attack drone was supposed to be a symbol of the era of precision warfare — a way to wage wars with fewer casualties on both sides. It's a technology that's been honed since it was first dreamed up during World War 1. But are drones actually precise enough? Do drones desensitize us to the casualties of civilians caught between us and our enemies? In this episode, Dr James Rogers helps NPR explore the past, present and future of drone warfare.
Link HERE.
James regularly appears on Dan Snows's History Hit. Episodes include 'The History of Drones', 'The History of Cluster Bombs', and 'Untold Histories of War'.
Historian and broadcaster James Rogers joins us to give a breakdown of the weapons that he believes are the most significant in the history of civilisation, spanning from ancient times to the modern-day.
Link HERE.
James talks to ABC about how there are now more players in the global drone game. Has remote warfare got more deadly in the past 12 months?
Link HERE.
James talks to veteran broadcaster Phillip Adams about the rise of swarming drones and the changing character of modern warfare. Link HERE.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Based on their research conducted in Niger, James and his co-author argue why the Western understanding of remote warfare needs to be reconsidered. Link HERE.
In this article for the Washington Post, James analyses a suspected piracy incident off the coast of Oman and explains how it quickly turned into an international drone based crisis. Link HERE.
At the outbreak of the war, Nazi Germany’s information nodes on weather reporting were severely reduced as they had largely relied on weather reports from allied countries. To maintain this meteorological advantage, the allies had to keep Nazi forces out of the Arctic and away from Greenland. James and his co-author explore this remarkable history. Link HERE.
James's latest article for BBC History Magazine explores the most important weapons in the history of warfare. By placing long-range weapons, and the ambition to kill at an ever greater distance, into their historical context, James raises some disturbing points about the ambition of humanity and the way in which humans choose to kill.
FROM DAGGARS TO DRONES, BBC WORLD HISTORIES (2019)
James takes the reader on a journey through the history of weapons, warfare, and humanity itself. This fascinating article argues that human have a fascination with killing in new, improved, and disturbingly distant ways. Link HERE.
In this article for History Today, the historian James Rogers explores the history of drone warfare and argues that there is nothing new about uncrewed aircraft. Link HERE.
INNOCENCE UNDER FIRE – A HISTORY OF CHILD SOLDIERS, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE (2017)
From medieval times to the modern day, young children have been put to tragic use in warfare. James Rogers and his co-author tell their story.
NATO - FUTURE DRONE WARFARE (2021).
James is the NATO Country Director of the Vulnerabilities of the Drone Age programme. Here he explains the future threats posed by military UAS, terrorist drones, and the dangers of the Second Drone Age. Link HERE.
UNITED NATIONS - USE OF ARMED DRONES FOR TARGETED KILLING(2020)
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions presented her report to the Human Rights Council. James was an adviser and co-author of the report.
Link HERE.