Drones: Helping or Hindering?

By Shea Garner

One of the most remarkable technological advancements our military has seen in the past five years is the production and use of remote-controlled drone plans for surveillance and combat. These unmanned aircrafts are essentially the probe droids sent by Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, except replace Hoth with the Middle East and Darth Vader with the seemingly less menacing U.S. government.

While the development of drone technology is internationally widespread, the U.S. is currently the only country with UAVs (Umanned Aerial Vehicles) in use. With that, the U.S. is also the only country to approve drone strikes on enemy—or not-so-enemy territory—territory.

The pros of drone warfare can, however, outweigh the cons, in many people’s eyes. Unmanned airplanes controlled by military personnel miles and miles away put no pilot’s life at risk. Yet, with new military technology, there comes the need for new defense technology. Very expensive defense technology. Our navy is currently testing lasers (yes, lasers) to efficiently shoot down drones in the vent of an enemy attack. That’s kind of an expensive technology to be developing when we’re the only country to approve of UAV strikes in the first place. And you thought Star Wars was just science fiction.

And you can’t neglect the psychological impact of this technological warfare. Pakistani civilians are forced to endure three to four U.S. drones circling their village on a daily basis. These innocent people are forced to live in perpetual fear, hearing the low buzz of the “surveillance” UAVs--never knowing when or where these machines will strike. The control pilots sitting at desks millions of miles away often claim to be following orders. Still, their desensitization of fear and destruction ultimately speaks louder than their obedience.

Don’t get me wrong—the benefits of these technologies are unmatched. Our soldiers are safer and the ability to strike on actual enemy target from afar clearly makes us the greatest military leader for a reason. But what do you think about the negative impacts of drone warfare? Let us know by tweeting @JerkMagazine or commenting below.