In 1975, American aerospace engineer Alvin Ellis worked on a prototype for the Israeli company Tadiran: a camera strapped to a model airplane (Drone Age). With this prototype, Ellis kickstarted the modern drone industry. Many countries began to use drones for war including the United States, which has been using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, in warfare since the 1980s. When they were first adopted, the military had only sixty drones. Today, drones make up around one-third of all military aircraft in the U.S. military (Drone Age). Although the military has been using drones for a long time, there is still heated debate on the ethics of using these UAVs to perform drone strikes. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States military is ethical because they reduce material costs, are more efficient, and reduce the amount of U.S. casualties. Drones are more efficient because of their accuracy and reliability. Drones can go to various places inaccessible to humans, such as contaminated areas (UAVs). They can also fly in areas where air defenses have not been fully subdued. The U.S. military has many types of UAVs in their arsenal which are used for many different purposes. The notorious Predator, created by General Atomics, carries out drone strikes while the Raven carries a camera the size of a peanut for use in surveillance missions (Drone Wars). This shows that drones can be used to complete various missions including reconnaissance and drone strikes. U.S. drones have made hundreds of drone strikes in six foreign countries over the last decade (Ethics of UAVs). These drone strikes are more accurate than conventional bombs. In addition to being more efficient, drones help reduce the amount of U.S. casualties in w... ... middle of paper ... ...estruction on the battlefield. Works Cited Ceggel, Laura. "The Drone Age." Popular Science Aug. 2012: 92. Gale Power Search. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Eitel, Elisabeth. "The Ethics of UAVs." Machine Design 12 Dec. 2013: 12. Gale Power Search. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. Lerner, K. Lee. "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 209-211. Gale Power Search. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Roberts, Tom. "The 'Irresistible Attractions' of Drones: Technology Raises Thorny Questions about the Evolving Nature of War and Its Conduct." National Catholic Reporter 22 Nov. 2012: 1+. Gale Power Search. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Smith, Patricia. "Cyber War: Computers Will Play a Key Role in Future Conflicts." Junior Scholastic/Current Events 1 Apr. 2013: 6+. Gale Power Search. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
One of the benefits of the Drone is preserving U.S. life. Drones can now replace surveillance missions inside enemy territory without risking the pilots capture and death. Drones are able to slip across borders without risking lives of pilots. They can linger in foreign countries and scout potential threats for a long period of time. They can then decide when to strike the target with minimal civilian casualties. (E-IR) Drones are also able to strike a target with better targeting strategies due to the pilot being removed from the cockpit. (E-IR) Besides the capability for a drone to just hunt down a ...
Controversy has plagued America’s presence in the Middle East and America’s usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) contributes vastly to this controversy. Their usefulness and ability to keep allied troops out of harm’s reach is hardly disputed. However, their presence in countries that are not at war with America, such as Pakistan and Yemen, is something contested. People that see the implications of drone use are paying special attention to the civilian casualty count, world perspective, and the legality of drone operations in non-combative states. The use of drone technology in the countries of Yemen and Pakistan are having negative consequences. In a broad spectrum, unconsented drone strikes are illegal according to the laws of armed conflict, unethical, and are imposing a moral obligation upon those who use them. These issues are all of great importance and need to be addressed. Their legality is also something of great importance and begins with abiding to the Laws of Armed Conflict.
Byman’s first argument is that US drone strikes are extremely efficient in their purpose: eliminating high value targets in foreign countries that pose a threat to national security. He cities a study done by the New America Foundation, which found that “U.S. drones have killed an estimated 3,300 al Qaeda, Taliban, and other jihadist operatives in Pakistan and Yemen” (Byman 1). Of these 3,300 militants, over 50 were senior leaders of either Al Qaeda or the Taliban. Additionally, drone strikes indirectly hinder communication between terrorist leaders and their operatives. In an effort to avoid detection, many foreign militants have stopped using cell phones and other electronic forms of communication. Although the elimination of technology makes it harder to find high value targets, it also significantly impacts their ability to communicate, which reduces the amount of organized attacks. Without considering the cost of civilian casualties or other negative impacts associated with the drone strikes, it is clear that UAV drones have been effective in eliminating foreign threats.
On the use of drones, NYT’s Peter M. Singer (“Do Drones Undermine Democracy?”) makes the comprehensive argument that the use of drones goes against the how wars are meant to be fought—human participation. It can be counter argued that these automatons are better in terms of expendability; personnel are not easily replaced while drones are easily replaceable. The Bush 43 strategy relied more on men, and it did yielded adverse results politically. The switch to drones presented dynamic political benefits, for which Singer argued allowed for circumvention of aggravated/emotive discourse among members of the American populace, academics and mass media. It is imperative to remember that the cost of the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq—increases in casualties—was detrimental to the American credibility and brought about victory to Obama in 2008 elections.
Murphy, Dan. "Aerial Drones Serve as Weapons of War." Weapons of War. Ed. Diane Andrews Henningfeld. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Briefing: Aerial Drones as Weapons of War." Christian Science Monitor (22 May 2009). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
Suebsaeng, Asawin. "Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask." Mother Jones. N.p., 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. .
Drones are also called unmanned aerial vehicles. They come in various sizes for many uses. Drones are known by different names such as “Killer Drone” or “Spy” or “Surveillance Drone” as they are mostly used to decimate enemy and harm civilians, which is why drones receive negative feedback from the public. Not all people use drones in warfare, they also use them as a hobby to film and entertain. Despite the fact that drones have negative sides, they also have positive sides as well.
Sandler, Ronald L. Ethics and Emerging Technologies. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2013. Print.
Works Cited Anderson, Kenneth. A. The Case for Drones. Commentary. Jun. 2013: 14.
A lot of countries all over the world depend on technological advances to fight against their opponents. This reduced the risk of having a soldier wounded or dying in a war by making it easier with using these technologies when it comes to head to head combat. Even though using technologies are a great idea but many ethical issues arise from it. One of the main issue is the use of these Drones. This technology is developing more and more. In a recent study showed that there are over 700 active drone development all over the world and these programs are controlled under companies, research institutes, and the government. United States is mainly using these drones to fight against so called “terrorist” but some other countries use them as well. It is immoral and unethical to use these drones because it cause psychological disorders, violate privacy, cause deaths of innocent lives, and increase terrorism. (Reardon)
Masnick, Mike. "Should We Want A 'Cyberwar'? It's A Lot Less Bloody Than A Real War." Techdirt. N.p., 20 June 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. (Source G)
The Web. 5 Oct. 2015. Olender, Michael. A. “Keeping Pace with Cyber Power, Defense, and Warfare.” Journal of International and Global Studies 6.2 (2015): 55+.
Drones are an emerging technology that has countless benefits and a myriad of intangible side-effects. I will clearly explain how drones effect on our lives by exploring the Social, Cultural, Political and Environmental impacts drone technology presents in our lives today.
Every day the world is evolving, different types of technology are being made for different kinds of uses. Some people in the army want to use drones to carry out different types of missions, in other places in the world. Using will help soldiers carry out missions, quicker, easier, and much more efficient. 60% of Americans agree on the usage of drones for army purposes. Many people say that the army should not use drones because drones will increase the number of terrorists, drones can kill and injure innocent civilians, and that drones will “...allow the United States to become emotionally disconnected from the horrors of war” (ℙ8, Drones). There are many advantages with having drones aid military bases, because
7. Robots, Ethics & War. (n.d.). Center for Internet and Society. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2010/12/robots-ethics-war