Drones are crewless aircraft that operate with various degrees of autonomy. In contrast to a combat aircraft pilot, the drone operator does not put his life on the line. They may do reconnaissance, hit land and sea targets, intercept air targets, and cargo delivery, among other things (Frantzman, 2021). Drone combat first began in the 1970s and has since evolved through other conflicts and battles, mostly in the Middle East. The Obama and Trump presidencies have pursued a policy of escalating the use of drones in high-risk areas (Frantzman, 2021). Drone warfare techniques were an obvious next step in the evolution of the military tactics. In recent years, harsh conditions and lessons acquired from the Afghan and Iraq conflicts have influenced the increased use of drones in counter-terrorism operations.
However, sometimes the morality of the usage of these technologies is questionable. Firstly, the civilian casualties issue is among the most obvious. Due to a variety of circumstances, including locations that are inaccessible to independent observers and local officials, it is impossible to quantify the number of civilian deaths (Frantzman, 2021). In truth, drone targets are quite imprecise, and removing one target can result in dozens of ‘collateral damage,’ including children and the elderly. People in many regions do not trust and are afraid of the use of drones, according to numerous investigations (Frantzman, 2021). They also reject government-sanctioned drone activities. The second question, posed on the continuation of drone warfare, is the neglection of international borders, which doubts the whole system of the sovereignty of one’s country. Many US drone operations in Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq were conducted without the approval of the countries’ governments (Frantzman, 2021). Such actions generate a strong critique and demand for specific drone legislation posed by many experts (Frantzman, 2021). Thus, the future of this technology from the moral point of view is rather pessimistic, while its effectiveness is harder to doubt.
Reference
Frantzman, S. J. (2021). The Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future. Bombardier Books.