The United States carried out a higher number of air and drone strikes overseas during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term than it did throughout former President Joe Biden’s four-year presidency, according to a new survey released by a global conflict monitoring group.

Data published by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) shows that between January 20, 2025, and January 5, 2026, the US conducted 573 air and drone strikes abroad. When operations carried out alongside coalition partners are included, the total rises to 658 strikes. By comparison, during Biden’s entire four-year term, the US carried out 494 direct strikes and 694 coalition operations.

The nonprofit conflict watchdog said the US was involved in 1,008 foreign military events across at least nine countries during the past 12 months, resulting in an estimated 1,093 fatalities. Under the Biden administration, ACLED recorded 1,648 military events over four years, leading to approximately 1,518 deaths.

A significant share of the fatalities during Trump’s first year stemmed from maritime operations. According to the survey, at least 110 alleged drug traffickers were killed by US forces in international waters in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The total death toll from US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June remains unknown and was not included in the final figures.

More than 80 percent of the air and drone strikes recorded during the period were directed at Yemen’s Houthi rebels. ACLED estimates that these operations alone accounted for over 530 deaths. The Houthis have remained a major target of US military action amid ongoing regional instability and threats to international shipping routes.

In its analysis, ACLED described the Trump administration’s approach as markedly more aggressive. “Trump’s first year of foreign strikes shows a ‘strike first, ask questions later’ strategy,” the report said, adding that military force appears to be deployed more rapidly and with fewer constraints than in previous years.

Clionadh Raleigh, Chief Executive Officer of ACLED, said the current pattern of US military activity is notable not only for its pace but also for how openly it challenges traditional norms governing the use of power. “What we are seeing is striking for its speed and for the way it questions the idea that military power should be constrained by shared rules,” she said.

Raleigh also pointed to recent US operations in countries such as Venezuela and Nigeria as examples of how swiftly this approach can translate into direct military action. She warned that similar dynamics could emerge in other regions, including Greenland, Colombia and Cuba, cautioning that sovereign states should not be treated merely as strategic assets.

According to ACLED, the Trump administration has increasingly framed foreign territories as problems to be managed or resources to be controlled, whether for access to oil, territory or strategic positioning. The survey suggests this shift reflects a broader recalibration of US foreign policy priorities, with a heavier reliance on military force as a primary tool of influence.