Advancing technologies have changed everything, from our medical science to daily life routines. It has also changed how wars are fought over the decades; now artificial intelligence is the groundbreaking technology of the century. How will AI change human wars? Will drones and robots replace soldiers?
The answer surely is no. For now, it is very much necessary to keep a human in the loop when operating military drones. It is necessary when life-or-death decisions are supposed to be made. All of the drones currently deployed overseas fall into this category: They are remotely piloted by a human or at times multiple people as well.
There are many things to consider before deciding to deploy military drones. Continue reading to find out more.
Background of Military Drones
The first radio-controlled drones were developed between World War I and World War II in both the United Kingdom and the United States. After the end of WWII, the United States continued in the target drone business developing cities that could be launched from the air or the ground.
In particular, the technology was used in the service of surveillance of troop movements among other things during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. This marked the first use of drones in military operations.
What Is The Appeal Of Autonomous Military Weapons?
Military success is mainly contingent on the equipment used, and war is expensive. As part of military activities, there are additional costs associated with training, housing, feeding, and providing soldiers with weapons and equipment. After the war, there are mounting expenses for veterans’ programs, health insurance, and pensions.
The machine-controlled troops, according to those who support them, will not only protect human soldiers from dangerous combat but will also lower the military’s operational and maintenance expenses.
It could reduce the economic repercussion for a nation usually associated with wars. Compared to conventional munitions, autonomous systems will enable more accurate and surgical attacks with significantly reduced concern about collateral damage.
How Far Can Military Drones Fly?
The military makes use of a more sophisticated version of the same UAV technology than your domestic toy drone. Additionally, a military-grade aircraft often comes in a bigger size. Drones of the NATO variety have a 50 km (31 mi) range. Drones that travel at hypersonic speeds can travel more than 200 kilometers (124 miles)
Additionally, they are exempt from the regulations that apply to consumer drones. When you learn how high military drones can travel, you’ll be astounded if you knew how high they can lawfully fly.
Can Military Drones Be Hacked?
Hackers can gain access to drones from up to a mile away, just like they can with computers. They only need to intercept the signal in order to establish a link with your drone. The radio signal is typically not encrypted; thus, a packet sniffer must be used in the meantime to decode it.
Military drones have much better security than commercial drones, but this doesn’t guarantee that they can’t be compromised. According to the BBC, a US military drone was compromised in Iran in 2011.
How Much Do Military Drones Cost?
Costs for American military drones can reach tens of thousands of dollars. From a few thousand dollars to tens of millions of dollars, they can range in value. For instance, the price of a typical “toy” drone, which you can purchase locally or online, ranges from $25 to $250. Ones that are a little bit more professional can cost under $1,000.
How Do Military Drones Work?
Drones come in two varieties: rotary and fixed-wing. Both are unique in terms of their technical features and functionalities, yet they are identical in terms of activities. The fuselage is attached to the wings. On a fixed-wing stage, the plane moves forward to propel its wings through the air and produce lift.
An aircraft, a ground control station, and a satellite connection are the three components that make up each military drone framework.
The Problem With Autonomous Military Weapons
It is necessary to consider ethical implications before making policies on AWS because these policies affect millions of people, so, another major concern that has been raised about AWS is the ethical dilemma surrounding them. A ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems will prevent the development of these technological means to reduce incidental civilian casualties.
Unmanned autonomous weapons systems that are lethal would also be beneath human dignity. A machine can only simulate moral decisions; it cannot genuinely weigh the consequences of its actions. Taking a human life is a moral decision.
The development of autonomous systems creates a gap in accountability because even when each State is still responsible for deciding whether to deploy weapons with autonomous capabilities, how to use them, and in what operational environment. The responsibility cannot be filled by commanders and weapons operators alone.
To approximate these decisions, we can program them or give them examples, but that differs from really making them. This decision goes beyond simply applying the codified laws of war, yet even that calls for discretion and careful consideration of several nuances.
Artificial systems have the benefit of not experiencing destructive emotions, such as rage. But they also lack critical positive emotions, such as sympathy and compassion. And despite the advancement in robotics and technology, machines still are not equipped enough to take in the changes in the environment and adapt rapidly for quick decision-making. So, it is the best option to keep humans in the loop when using this technology.
Conclusion
Robotics and artificial intelligence both have a lot of potentials to benefit society, from looking for survivors in collapsed buildings to mining vast amounts of data for novel cancer therapies.
It is up to us to decide whether we use their potential to foster peace and improve our lives or whether we use it to assure unending conflict and devalue human life. For now, any advantages that autonomous military drones and weapons can offer are outweighed by the risks that come with them.
