UAS
Morality Issues
The argument against the use of drones by
the military has been very one sided based on social media and news
reports. Statistics being reported have
been debated continuously regarding UAS payload accuracy and civilian
deaths. However, the percentages being
broadcasted are rarely put into context.
Avery Plaw, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts
researched the deaths of combatants versus civilians in other environments such
as ground warfare. One study showed that
drone deaths in Pakistan were estimate at 4, 6, 17, and 20 percent (Shane, S.
2012). Comparing this study to other warfare settings,
the drone civilian deaths were very low.
Ground warfare conducted by the Pakistani Army ended up with a 46
percent death rate of civilians (Shane, S. 2012). Mr. Plaw also stated that conflicts over the
last two decades estimated civilian deaths to be from 33 to 80 percent (Shane,
S. 2012). Limiting the use of drone
attacks is allowing our enemies freedom of action. The ability to fly to a location and monitor
a target before striking without ever sending a solder or pilot is an advantage
armies of the past could only dream of.
UAS
Human Factors and Ethics
The difficulty of war
from a distance is the disconnect between man to man combat and being under
fire. The idea that someone is engaging
in war or an attack without actually being present can be an ethical dilemma
for some. Some UAS pilots have struggled
with post traumatic stress disorder while other disagree that’s possible due to
not being present during the strike.
Regardless, the idea of taking another humans life during war is a
difficult responsibility especially when there is a potential for innocent
lives to be taken. The human factors
elements that can help with mitigation of innocent lives lost can be found in
technology improvements. Increased
situation awareness through improved camera optics and increased field of
view. Improved design of ground control
stations making the human-machine interface more ergonomic and easy to use. Decreasing lost link events, data-link
latency, and eliminating misinterpreting flight telemetry data.
UAS
Morality Opinions in the News
Below are some
key phrases that I feel speak volumes from the New York Post and my thoughts
behind them (Peters, R. 2015).
“All weapons are
inherently immoral”
War is something
no one wants but we live in a world where war is a constant reality. The US is somewhat sheltered compared to some
other countries so it becomes easier for the public to criticize from afar. Regardless, in order to protect and defend
weapons are required. Weapons and
defending an individuals own home is an idea and concept that has been ongoing
since the beginning of time. Whether the
weapon is a gun used by a solider, an armed manned aircraft, or unmanned
aircraft, they are means required in order for sufficient protection. The idea of a drone was not to design a more
humane weapon, but a more precise weapon.
“Delay is defeat”
Action must be taken now to improve the UAS
technologies to reduce the likelihood of missed targets and malfunctions
leading to a civilian’s loss of life.
The debates and restrictions only slow our ability as a country to
eradicate potential threats to our country as terrorist activities reach an
all-new level of danger.
“Thousands of lives
saved and what makes the headlines? Two
western hostages killed in an otherwise successful drone attack.”
The media does a
good job of spinning stories in their favor.
You rarely see statistics of hostages or civilians that are killed
during ground attacks and when you do it is not the headline story. Also, there are rarely debates over whether
soldiers weapons are immoral or ethically unsound. A soldiers tools to protect himself and his
fellow soliders have not changed much
“Even with superb intelligence, weaponry still goes awry”
The technology
used with military UAS platforms has become very advanced and precise. However, technology is not perfect and
neither are the people operating it.
This is where the human factors element comes into play. The design, layout, and training involved
with ground control stations, displays, menu options, flight telemetry data,
and optical sensor capabilities are fundamental in reducing such human-machine
interface issues.
“They want to kill us,
and their madness has no reverse gear”
As unfortunate as it may be, we must
realize a countries enemies have no reservations and will do what it takes to
carry out their plans regardless of intent.
The military branches responsible for protection of our country must
counter such attacks in the most precise manner possible, while minimizing
causalities. The evolution of war began
with mostly man-to-man combat, then armed vehicles, then manned aircraft,
leading to the current unmanned aircraft.
The argument that drone attacks lead to more civilian deaths over
previous methods of war is statement with very little supporting evidence.
References
McKnight, Lt. Gen. C, (2014).
The Morality of Drones. Retrieved
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lt-gen-clarence-e-mcknight-jr-/the-morality-of-drones_b_6002808.html
Peters, R.
(2015). End the moaning about the
morality of US drone strikes. Retrieve
from http://nypost.com/2015/04/23/end-the-moaning-about-the-morality-of-us-drone-strikes/
Shane, S.
(2012). The Moral Case for
Drones. Retrieve from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/sunday-review/the-moral-case-for-drones.html?_r=0
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