Every so often in history, something profound happens that changes warfare forever. Next year, for the first time ever, the Pentagon will buy more unmanned aircraft than manned, line-item proof that we are in a new age of fighting machines, in which war will be ever more abstract, ever more distant, and ruthlessly efficient. Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala - via Tobie Openshaw (f)
The author frames this technological advancement as an alternative to manned bombing and reconnaissance. In that light it looks pretty good. However, he utter fails to consider whether UAV's are being used where aerial force wouldn't have been used in the past.
I think he's right that UAV's are going to increasingly be part of warfare globally, for the U.S. military and others as well. It's eerie that all those kids playing violent video games are in a sense training to wage the future wars.
The story glosses over the moral questions of robot killing machines. It seems a part of the pornography of war.
As they say in the recuiting posters. Join the Navy, See the world. Meet lots of interesting people and Kill them. Now you can do it from a comfortable chair as if you are playing a video game but killing real people. What incredible progress. Remind me. Who was the bad guy in the cold war. Great name for the plane.
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