The Globalization Of Drone Warfare

Great Essays
Drone Warfare has had an immediate global impact when it was first announced to the world stemming from “unethical” to “brilliance”. Private owners are now using drones for hobbies, while governments are utilizing their weaponized drones for surveillance and warfare. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are considered a relatively new piece of technology, and the United States is having trouble assigning laws to this new technology. Drones are an astonishing piece of machinery; the pilot has complete control of the machine from around the world while being capable to do great destruction. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles has brought upon several controversial issues stemming from the globalization of drone warfare, ethical …show more content…
UAV’s are unique weapon systems; that can fly virtually undetectable by the human eye, thousands of feet in the air, observe the ground below for more than a day, and once finding its target, bring a laser guided missile onto its mark, all without exposing a pilot to harm (Deegan, 2014, pg. 250). Drones can be equipped with high-power cameras, thermal scanners, LADAR (laser radar), and facial recognition software (Matiteyahu, 2015, pg.3); drones may look scary, but they have positive potential, such as: topographical mapping, crop dusting, environmental protection, wildlife tracking, rescue missions and etc. (Matiteyahu, 2015, pg.3).The origins of aerial surveillance is no new tactic, the US military has been conducting surveillance from manned aircrafts for decades dating back since World War II (Nichols, 2014). Surveillance is no new tactic, however it is a quite different from manned aerial vehicles in WWII compared to unmanned aerial vehicles now. Furthermore, Nichols (2014) says that over time, the US drone has evolved from three phases: 1) the drone as a “target” …show more content…
The world does not care about the size of one’s army, but more the amount of damage they can do by sitting 10,000 miles away in an office. According to Lubell & Derejko (2013), the ever-increasing use of drones as a means and method in the pursuit of the “War on Terror” has given rise over the emergence of a ‘global battlefield’ where the whole planet will be subject to armed conflict and laws (pg.2). Lubell and Derejko touch on a valuable point; first, if a country properly declares war with drones, proper laws would need ratification, making those laws adopted by most countries as the model system. Second, if the world accepted a more ‘drone world’, all countries would be subject to surprise attacks making it difficult for nations to destroy drones when they cannot see them. In addition, drones affect the legality of borders and boundaries, making foreign countries question the US surveillance program. However, most individuals do not know that most US drones deployed along the borders are grounded most of the time, because the program cost more than initially estimated and has shown no actual evidence that it works (Whitlock, 2015). This evidence would look poorly on the individuals who were in favor of increased drones near the border; in addition the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general found “little or no

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Drone Strikes

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad? Remotely-controlled aircraft, otherwise known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones can be equipped with bombs and missiles for attack missions. The original drone, the MQ-1 Predator and the upgraded MQ-9 Reaper are the two most commonly used unmanned aerial vehicles. They are cherished for their ability to fly thousands of feet over a target for long durations of time and relay high-resolution, live reconnaissance. In September of 2000, lobbying began to weaponize the MQ-1 (Predator) drone with air-to-ground missiles for use as a battlefield weapon.…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his essay “In Defense of Drones: a historical argument,” David Bell defends the use of drones as a weapon from critics that doubt the moral and political implications of war “waged by one side without risk to the life and limb of its combatants.” Bell’s creates his arguments using comparisons, quotes, and facts. Bell’s first argument addresses the concern of drones “radically change[ing] the political dynamics of warfare” by comparing the purpose of drones to that of past weaponry. He states that the motivation of innovation in military technology has been, and still is, to “take out one’s enemies from a safe distance.”…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The key piece in shredding this myth apart, however, would be the usage of drones to create a technological warfare in which unmanned aircraft carriers would be used to attack intended targets. It also goes without saying that although the technology used requires human input as well which can lead to catastrophic disasters such as the Afghanistan hospital which was hit by a drone strike killing doctors and children or the amount of civilian casualties that have skyrocketed since the implementation of the drones. This section of the paper will detail the Obama administration’s usage of drones over the course of his two terms in office, the statistics of how many deaths there have been using this technology as well as legal responses to events such as the bombings of hospitals and the supposed ever-expanding kill list of the Obama administration.…

    • 1602 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Ethics surrounding drone warfare has been a controversial debate that has not yet captured the full attention of the public in the west. The main arguments for using drone warfare has been about saving lives and cost, but such argument pales in comparison to the arguments against it. To examine the counter arguments of why drone warfare is ethically wrong, we must look at the political stance of the governments using drone warfare, the society’s responsibility, the ethics of the way that the drone strikes are conducted, the effectiveness of drone warfare and the international irresponsibility and unethical nature of drone strikes. Drone warfare saves the lives of soldiers by placing them out of harms way; this is one of the arguments for…

    • 1913 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    By the time of Iraq/Afghanistan war, warfare had progressed much further into what is today called modern warfare. Attacks were no longer led on the front lines, but rather hundreds of miles away, strategically led from a safe location. The age of unmanned aerial vehicles emerged, dawning the use of the new word “drone”. Suddenly, an unmanned plane…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Drones In The Civil War

    • 2693 Words
    • 11 Pages

    No longer do we march our armies into open fields wearing blue uniforms. Instead, soldiers wear camouflage, guns have silencers, snipers are stationed hundreds of meters from the heart of the battle, and stealth bombers patrol the skies. War evolves, and military strategy evolves with it. The introduction of drones effects a new era of war. To paraphrase American political scientist P.W. Singer, for the first time, we seek to redefine…

    • 2693 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The U.S. military stance of using drones as a self-defense measure in the war on Terror the number of civilian casualties caused by drone aircraft.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1984 And Technology Essay

    • 1834 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Drone surveillance presents an easier, faster, and cheaper method of data collection. They can enter narrow and confined spaces, produce minimal noise, and even has night vision cameras” (“Aerial Surveillance & Security…

    • 1834 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drone Warfare Ethics

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Ethics of Drone Warfare The first recorded use of attack drones occurred on July 15, 1849. The setup for these drones was simple; a balloon attached to a basket would carry a bomb, the attackers would then calculate how much air the balloon needed to reach the desired destination. After that, these early UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) would be sent off to cause destruction. In my opinion, this method seems childish, but this elementary design has helped shape how war is carried out today.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Aggressive Drone Warfare

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Drone Warfare: The United States and their Aggressive Drone Policy in Afghanistan The United States has shifted its military strategies for taking out foreign enemies by reducing the number of boots they put on the ground and increasing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles referred to as drones. The use of drones is effective at sparing the number of U.S. soldiers and pilots being sent to deal with terrorist organizations (Grayson 2016). However it is ineffective in reducing the number of civilians that are killed or wounded through the use of these counterinsurgency strategies (Khalili 2012). This essay argues that the current U.S. drone policy in the country of Afghanistan is too aggressive and is doing more harm than good.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What do drones and military trained soldiers have in common? One has to bear the burden of killing one single innocent while the other powers down after an entire year of killing innocents with no ounce of remorse, guess which ones which. Over the decade, an estimation of over 400 innocent lives have been taken by American drones. It is safe to say anytime an innocent is killed a mob short tempers will want someone to pay. Because of the use of drone technology in warfare, countless people have raised the question of whether or not the use of drones is ethical or not.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The characteristics of Drones, or unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), epitomize advances made in warfare over recent years. Boasting high precision assault capabilities, as well as stealth and reconnaissance use in addition to a virtual lack of risk to the operator. Yet, despite the aforementioned benefits, the clandestine nature of drone operations has led to them becoming a point of debate in the world today, as they have become symbolic of various issues surrounding the so called The War on Terror. However, in order for there to be a more productive public discussion regarding drone operations and their effects, a greater deal of transparency around their operations is required.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A drone is any unmanned aircraft that one can program or they can be autonomous. These robots often use GPS technology to be more accurate when preforming a task. Additionally, in most states an individual must receive a certificate of authorization from the FAA before using drones for any purpose other than recreational. The Federal Government uses drones to make citizens lives safer and easier by monitoring wild fires, supporting law enforcement, and training the military. However, the demand for consumer drones is increasing rapidly due to the FAA Modernization and Reform act, which is a four-year plan to introduce new aviation technology into our government, causes many people to question the drone’s nature within our country (FAA Modernization…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drones Pros Cons

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, drone technology has taken a giant leap forward. Now a days America uses drones for several different types of missions on a daily basis. Despite all the great accomplishments drones have achieved in the last fifteen years, critics claim that drones should not be used because of civilian causalities and sovereignty concerns. Despite concerns, America cannot afford the risk of not using drones. America needs drones too keep Americans safe, kill its enemies, conduct surveillance on the enemy and keep the future of America secure.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The concept of mechanical weapons of death flying through the sky is an idea that is definitely hard to wrap one’s head around. While those who were raised to the tune of movies like “The Terminator” could be understandably hesitant at the thought of allowing military robots to lead airstrikes on other countries in the world. Others agree that drones can be a huge asset that can revolutionize warfare. Either way it’s pros and cons help to create a major topic of debate in modern day society, especially in The United States. Many people agree drones are the next step in military conflict, while others argue drones are the next step in losing our humanity.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays