Why Do Military Use Drones?

Byman continues with this argument, stating that drones achieve their intended goal without risking American lives. Because drones only require a remote control to pilot, they do not put a member of the US Air Force at risk. This not only reduces the amount of military deaths in foreign countries, but it allows drones to travel to places that are deemed too dangerous for actual US pilots. Byman states that in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, “the government exerts little or no control over remote areas, which means that it is highly dangerous to go after militants hiding out there. Worse yet, in Pakistan and Yemen, the governments have at times cooperated with militants” (Byman 2). The majority of the time, sending in an actual military force is simply too dangerous. Instead of sending people, the US military can send robots.

Drones are a better alternative to traditional methods of war because they kill less civilians, are legal under international law, and also that they do not create more terrorists than they kill. These facts will prove that older methods of war such as mortars, and bombs pale in comparison to the drone and the effect they have and will continue to have in the war on terror.

In the last decade, the number of drone strikes has increased dramatically as more UAVs are sent overseas and the military sees a greater demand in their utilization. In 2005, there were only 2 US airstrikes in Pakistan and in 2010, there were 127. The Pentagon currently operates over 7,000 drones and the budget for 2014 currently estimates over $5 billion for drone research, development, and procurement. Since 9/11, over 95% of all non-battlefield ground killings have been conducted by drones. The United States operates them with consent of Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalian leaders, although their public statements and sentiment are strongly anti-drone. In response to the recent controversy over the ethics of this surveillance, President Obama made a speech on May 23, 2013 outlining his justification for the drone program and promised more transparency and tighter policies toward their usage.

Drones have been one of the most controversial Military topics in the past ten years. Drones are planes that can be controlled by someone from many miles away. In the past few years, drones have been killing terrorists in the Middle East without putting U.S. military lives in danger. The United States Military should increase use of Drones because they can go places that are unsafe for a human, and save not only a soldier’s life, but also cost less money to manufacture than supplying ground troops and air troops.

Drones are wartime weapons the United States government uses to fight the War on Terror. Officially known as unmanned aerial vehicles, this type of aircraft plays a vital role in protecting the United States, as well as many other countries around the world. Although there are multiple drones owned by the United States government, the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1B Predator drones are the most predominantly used drones; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems manufacture both aircrafts.

The flying invention called the drone is used for countless things. Good and bad. According to Fintan Corrigan here is a list of ways drones are used: search and rescue, marketing, film making, site surveying, parcel deliveries, imaging structures, precision agriculture, family fun occasions, lighting concert shows, counting stockpiles, weather patterns, environmental, conservation, insurance, policing, sports. This is just a few ways drones are being used. People are coming up with more and more ways that drones can make jobs easier and safer.

One of the tremendous advantages of drones is that they can bypass most obstacles at ease. There are times there will be difficult situations to gain information. Knowing this knowledge can sometimes be critical. For instance, Sarah McCammon from National Public Radio mentions an intelligence analysts work with drone pilots and others in the Air Force to guide decisions about where to deploy weapons in the fight against ISIS and al-Qaida. Having this remote access with drones, they are able to gather information without risking their life at this dangerous environment. Another way drones can be vital is by utilizing the eyes drones can collect data. Like when there are flooded neighborhood and terrible conditions, they can use the drone to scan through the area and look for people needing help.

Drones are an immoral counter-terrorism act that “violate international laws against summary execution” (Sluka 94). In other words the US might as well say they are trying to rid of Middle Eastern ethnicities in a rare form of genocide carried out by the use of drone and drone related air strikes. Thousands of war casualties fall victim to drone strikes, way more than the actual terrorists targeted by the

I believe that drones should be used in the military. Drones would help reduce terrorist activity by harming less civilians while in the process of trying to find their target. Drone strikes are more accurate than traditional weapons such as bombs or tanks can cause more unintended damage and the deaths of innocents. This entry shows how drones have reduced the number of deaths of civilians, “...it is estimated that 174 to 1,047 civilians have been killed in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia since the United States began conducting drone strikes abroad following the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks, roughly 8-17% of all deaths from US drones. In comparison, in World War II, civilian deaths, as a percentage of total war fatalities, are estimated at 40 to 67%.” (ProCon.org).

Drones are the future for U.S. warfare whether you like it or not. As terrifying as this sounds, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The topic of drones being used in war has been fueled for quite some time now and is only raising more arguments with advancing technology. It is understandable why people are frightened by visualization of an army of drones flying overhead to go to war, but this should not be the case. Drones are the way for future military use and there should not be an argument against drones specifically.

Three-thousand deaths have resulted in drone attacks and only 1.5 percent of these deaths were “high profile” personnel. Out of these deaths about 20 percent were either civilian or children. This statistic only accounts for the known drone attacks since the government keeps information of these killing secured (Galliott, Jai, and Bradley Strawser). When drones were first invented its intensions were mainly for surveillance. Over the years they have been modified and upgraded to perform tasks that can even match manned aerial vehicles which leads to the first argument for drones. With the use of drones it limits the amount of soldiers in dangerous situations. Drones are controlled by a pilot that sits in a safe command room with a high

I think William Saletan put it best when he compared the use of drones by the United States to laparoscopic surgery. He stated, “They minimize the entry wound and the risk of infection.” In other words, using drones are more efficient than using manned aircraft and troops on the ground. When people look at the total amount of civilian casualties which occurred since we started using drones, they would see that drones have caused fewer civilian deaths and more militant deaths compared to other means.

The United States military use of drone warfare has always been a huge controversial topic. Drones are unmanned flying robotics that are controlled by military officials that uses the drone to seek out the where about, as well as, killing any enemy combatant on the battlefield. Once drones became known to be helpful to our military, the American citizens questioned the United States military on how they would be used, as well as, the effectiveness of drones, and if there helpful (Scahill 7). With drone strikes being capable of doing what air strikes or bombings can do, they prevent less collateral damage. The United States Military uses drone for their excellent surveillance capabilities. Drones prevent the loss of our ground troops and civilian

Drones can have a couple of good uses in the army. Drones in the army can be helpful to look at the area with the controlled drone camera. Drones can maybe even be used as a weapon in the future. The drones can send food, supplies kit, and aid kits. The drones can also spy on our soldiers and check on them to see if they're okay.

The automation of the modern battlefield and the proliferation of unmanned systems to conduct war is a reality and imaginably it will only increase in the future. As these new weapon systems make their way to the battlefield it will require leaders to decide how to responsibly employ these systems and how often they will be used in substitution of actual Soldiers. The benefits and effectiveness of drones cannot be denied. The use of drones does limit the exposure of American Soldiers and the accuracy of drones to kill the enemy and limit civilian casualties does and will continue to improve.