Defining the term “drones” and their impact
on contemporary global security issues proves challenging for several reasons.
Firstly, there is limited consensus on what a drone actually is and what is
needed to make a piece of technology a drone. What is it that the term “drone”
refers to? What does it include, and what does it leave out? This in turn makes
it difficult to ascertain and determine the many different types of drones and
the differences between them. Should a drone be classified by its specifications,
limitations or overall purpose? This definition will attempt to address the use
and misuse of the term “drone” and provide a basic understanding of how
different actors define drones. I will also address the different types of
drones available, and their purpose in contemporary military combat in order to
introduce the basic arguments surrounding their place in contemporary global
security issues.
Is
there a consensus definition we can use?
Broadly speaking, a “drone” commonly
defined as;
“a pilotless aircraft operated by
remote control”
That is, aircraft either controlled by
‘pilots’ from the ground or increasingly, autonomously following a
pre-programmed mission (Cole & Wright, 2010).
What is a “drone”?
The
term “drone” has developed over the years to encompass an entire spectrum of
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (from here referred to as UAVs), which are powered aerial
vehicles that do not carry a human operator. UAVs have been
referred to in many ways, including RPV (remotely piloted vehicle), robot
plane, and pilotless aircraft (Bolkom & Bone, 2003). Whilst the term
“drone” has come to be synonymous with unmanned aircraft, it can also be used
to refer to ships and land vehicles that are designed or
outfitted as drones. However, the term does not include underwater vessels,
which are usually referred to as submersibles.
How
have different actors defined Drones?
Before presenting our definition on the term “drone” and what is
encompasses, it is important to address how other actors have defined the term.
The Department of Defense (DOD) defines a drone using 5 main
classifications;
1.
A powered, aerial vehicles that do not carry a human
operator
2.
Must use aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift
3.
Can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely
4.
Can be expendable or recoverable
5.
Can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload.
Our
definition:
For the
purposes of our analysis, we can deduce that in order
for a vehicle to be called a “drone”, it must encompass the following things;
1. Be capable of operating without
an internal pilot
2. Be tethered to a radio control
link
3. Posses the ability to be
preprogrammed for both flight and payload operations prior to launch
4. Posses the capability of
returning to launcher
This definition is useful for several
reasons. Firstly, it establishes that the vehicle must be capable of operating
without an internal pilot. Unlike cruise missiles, which have to be laboriously prepared and launched
over a period of hours, “drones provide a persistent presence over the
battlefield [and are] capable of gathering their own intelligence” (Grossman,
2013; p1), providing an instantaneous response. Secondly,
this definition builds on that provided by the DOD to exclude any vehicle that
is not tethered to a radio control link. The second aspect of the definition
removes any aerial vehicles that rely solely on aerodynamic lift, such as
gliders, to stay airborne. The third aspect of this definition distinguishes
drones from remotely-controlled
aircraft, such as small hobby planes, as it requires the vehicle to be capable
of operating out of line of sight and at altitudes where a person on the ground
cannot readily see them. The reason why our definition includes a drones
capability of returning to the launcher is to distinguish UAVs from missiles. Whilst it can be argued that a
cruise missile be considered a UAV, this definition ensures that it is treated
separately on the basis that the vehicle is the weapon and is not designed to
return to the launcher or posses the capability to be re-used.
2.
Types of Drones
While there are dozens of different types of drones, they can be
simply separated into two categories: those that are used for reconnaissance
and surveillance purposes, and those that are armed with weapons (Cole &
Wright 2010). Drones can range in size from an insect to that of a commercial airliner.
The DOD currently
possesses five major UAVs; the Air Force’s Predator and Global Hawk, the Navy
and Marine Corps’s Pioneer and the Army’s Hunter and Shadow (Bone and Bolkcom, 2003). One of the most popular
drones used in the American UAV fleet is the Predator drone; approximately 27 feet- long
and capable of flying for 24 hours at up to 26,000 feet. These larger drones are often armed with
Hellfire missiles and are used to conduct strikes,
in addition to higher altitude reconnaissance. The smaller drones of the
American UAV fleet are primarily used for reconnaissance and target
acquisition. Recent examples of the use of drones include arming UAVs (in
particular the Predator and Hunter drone type) to extend the eyes of submarines
and connecting UAVs to strike aircraft and armed helicopters as a way to
improve targeting. These UAV range in cost from a few thousand dollars to tens of
millions of dollars.
Drone Equipment:
Depending on its purpose, a drone
can be equipped with armament, radar, video cameras, lasers, or sensors for
chemical or biological weapons. Guidance of the drone can originate from an
airplane, a ship, a ground station, or a satellite link. Tests completed by
NASA and the U.S. Defense Department in California's Mojave Desert have shown
that small UAV’s carry the technology “to automatically protect themselves from
ground collisions using terrain data and control software stored onboard” (Norris
2010: p1) with just the use of a smartphone. The automatic ground collision
avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) uses precise navigation, performance and digital
terrain data in the phone to constantly monitor the UAV’s position relative to
obstacles around it (Norris 2010; p1).
Actors involved:
Typically, there are three actors needed for the successful use
of a drone.
1. A “ground crew” –
an actor who launches the drone from the conflict zone
2. A “controller” –
the actor responsible for ‘flying’ the drone. This can sometimes require the
use of a another separate actor responsible for operating and monitoring any
auxiliary cameras and sensors
3. A “contact” actor –
responsible for staying in contact and relaying information to the “customers”,
such as ground troops and commanders in the war zone
For example, in both Afghanistan and Iraq the British and US
Reaper and Predator drones are physically located in the conflict zone and
operated via satellite from Nellis and Creech USAF base outside Las Vegas,
Nevada. During the conflict, ground crews launched drones from the conflict
site and then handed over operation of the vehicle to controllers at video
screens in specially designed trailers in the Nevada desert (Norris, 2012).
3.
Use of Drones
UAVs no longer only perform intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance missions. Their roles have expanded to areas including
electronic attack (EA), strike missions, suppression and/or destruction of
enemy air defense, network communications relay and combat search and rescue.
In my opinion, the 6 main uses of Drones can be broken down as follows;
1.
Target and decoy - providing ground and aerial gunnery a target that
simulates an enemy aircraft or missile
2.
Reconnaissance - providing battlefield intelligence
3.
Combat - providing attack capability for high-risk missions
4.
Research and development - used to further develop UAV
technologies to be integrated into field deployed UAV aircraft
5.
Civil and Commercial UAVs - UAVs specifically designed
for civil and commercial applications.
Whilst
the use of drones is predominantly for military applications, they are also
being used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as policing, firefighting, and nonmilitary security
work. A year ago Obama ordered the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to “expedite
the process of integrating UAVs into civilian airspace” (Grossman, 2013), There
are many possible uses of UAVs within society. For example, police departments
could use them to study crime scenes to collect recent evidence in a more
accurate and descriptive manner than is possible with current investigative
technology.
The Use of Drones in The USA
The US
has two separate ‘squadron’ of armed drones; one programmed controlled by the
US Air Force and one controlled by the CIA (Cole and Wright 2010). The use of drones in the US military has dramatically increased in
recent times. Ten years ago the Pentagon had about 50 drones in its fleet;
currently it has some 7,500. More than a third of the aircraft in the Air
Force's fleet are now unmanned. The use of drones by the United States Air Force (USAF) has lead to “an
increase in the number of combat air patrols it can fly by 600 percent over the
past six years” (Cole and Wright, 2010). The work of Cole & Wright (2010)
suggests that at any time there are “at least 36 American armed UAVS over
Afghanistan and Iraq”.
Why
Use Drones?
From
a logical standpoint, the regulated use of Drones in the military is useful for
several reasons;
·
Unlike cruise missiles, which have to be laboriously targeted and
prepped for launch over a period of hours, drones can be made readily available
quickly
·
Drones are can present a persistent presence over the battlefield,
gathering their own intelligence and then providing an instantaneous response.
·
They represent a revolution in the idea of what combat is: enables
force to be exerted instantly
·
Prevents the risk of incurring American casualties
·
Transcends the usual boundaries of geography
Resources
Bolkcom, C. &
Bone, E. (2003), ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for
Congress’, Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress, OC:
RL31872, April 25 2003
Cole, C. &
Wright J. (2010), ‘What are Drones?’, Peace News, Jan. 2010, pp. 1-2
Grossman, L.
(2013), ‘Drone Home’, Time Magazine, Feb. 11 2013, pp. 1-2
Department of Justice, ‘Department of Justice White Paper: Lawfulness of a Lethal operation
Against a U.S. Citizen Who Is a Senior Leader of Al-Qa’ida or An Associated
Force’
Morey, J. (2012),
‘Drone Strikes and the Definition of War’,
JedMorey.com, November 28th, pp. 1-2
Norris, G. (2012),
‘Wake-up Call’, Aviation Week & Space
Technology, vol. 174, edn. 28, p. 39
Unknown authors,
(2011), ‘The UAV’, theuav.com
Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles Systems Association, (2013), ‘UAV or UAS’, uavs.org
Further
Readings
Living Under Drones
Stanford
International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic
Drone Warfare and the Law of Armed Conflict
Discusses the use of drones to target and kill enemies in
current armed conflicts
UAV Types
Information and
gallery of pictures on the different types of Drones
The Rise of Drones
A very informative
video on the use of drones
UAV Requirements and Design Consideration
This Turkish
source outlines UAV requirements and specifications based on battlefield
experience