The unmanned aircraft patrolling the skies above Afghanistan are controlled by pilots sitting in front of screens as far as 7,000 miles away.
Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan is reckoned to be as busy as Gatwick. Every few minutes the cloudless skies are filled with the roar of a military fighter taking off ââ¬â hugging the ground to avoid pot shots by the Talibanââ¬â¢s crude rockets before disappearing into the heat haze.
In between there is a more persistent sound: the high-pitched whirr of 'dronesââ¬â¢ ââ¬â military aircraft without a human on board ââ¬â as they head out for 18-hour stints monitoring the vast empty spaces of Afghanistan. This sound, generated by the aircraftââ¬â¢s tail propeller, is a constant white noise for the inhabitants of Kandahar Airfield.
It is said the term 'droneââ¬â¢ originated with a 1930s pilotless version of the British Fairey Queen fighter, the 'Queen Beeââ¬â¢. But, with the new generation of insect-like small aircraft, together with its monotonous engine noise, the name has never been more apt.
Before 9/11, drones were a new, untried technology. Now it is estimated that 40 countries are trying to buy or develop unmanned aircraft. The United States operates 7,500 drones or, in the official parlance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), making up more than 40 per cent of Department of Defense aircraft. They have been the weapon of choice for the US to assassinate 'high value targetsââ¬â¢ ââ¬â as the military call them ââ¬â from al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Drones deliver death out of a clear blue sky. Victims will not have known their fate for more than a fraction of a second. Most of the time they wonââ¬â¢t even have heard the Reaperââ¬â¢s engine.
Full article
Is it possible such powerful weapons will hand a propaganda victory to those they are targeted against?
Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan is reckoned to be as busy as Gatwick. Every few minutes the cloudless skies are filled with the roar of a military fighter taking off ââ¬â hugging the ground to avoid pot shots by the Talibanââ¬â¢s crude rockets before disappearing into the heat haze.
In between there is a more persistent sound: the high-pitched whirr of 'dronesââ¬â¢ ââ¬â military aircraft without a human on board ââ¬â as they head out for 18-hour stints monitoring the vast empty spaces of Afghanistan. This sound, generated by the aircraftââ¬â¢s tail propeller, is a constant white noise for the inhabitants of Kandahar Airfield.
It is said the term 'droneââ¬â¢ originated with a 1930s pilotless version of the British Fairey Queen fighter, the 'Queen Beeââ¬â¢. But, with the new generation of insect-like small aircraft, together with its monotonous engine noise, the name has never been more apt.
Before 9/11, drones were a new, untried technology. Now it is estimated that 40 countries are trying to buy or develop unmanned aircraft. The United States operates 7,500 drones or, in the official parlance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), making up more than 40 per cent of Department of Defense aircraft. They have been the weapon of choice for the US to assassinate 'high value targetsââ¬â¢ ââ¬â as the military call them ââ¬â from al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Drones deliver death out of a clear blue sky. Victims will not have known their fate for more than a fraction of a second. Most of the time they wonââ¬â¢t even have heard the Reaperââ¬â¢s engine.
Full article
Is it possible such powerful weapons will hand a propaganda victory to those they are targeted against?
