Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 1, Number 1, Fall 2015 | Page 19

Global Security and Intelligence Studies
a semiautonomous system in which a man-in-the-loop system provides the decision
making for multiple armed UAVs. But, for the most part, the UAV will continue to be a
niche player. While that niche will expand over time, the manpower and infrastructure
costs associated with UAVs will prevent it from becoming the universal replacement
to all manned military aircraft missions. Over the long term, many of these costs
could become negligible: inexpensive bandwidth and stealth materials and designs;
significant improvements in semiautomation software to exponentially increase the
productivity of pilots and intelligence analysts; and major improvements in power
and electronic protection for small UAVs. In the meantime, militaries will continue
to integrate their UAVs to work interactively with their manned aircraft.
References
Byman, Daniel. 2013. “Why Drones Work: The Case for Washington’s Weapon of
Choice.” Foreign Affairs 92 (4): 32-43.
Byrnes, Michael. 2014. “Nightfall: Machine Autonomy in Air to Air Combat.” Air and
Space Power Journal 28(3): 48-75.
Douhet, Giulio. 1983 (Reprint of 1921 original). Command of the Air. Washington,
DC: Office of Air Force History,
Ehrhard, Thomas P. 2010. Air Force UAVs: The Secret History. Arlington, VA: Mitchell
Institute for Airpower Studies.
Goldman, Emily, and Andress Ross. 2003. “Conclusion: The Diffusion of Military
Technology and Ideas—Theory and Practice.” In The Diffusion of Military
Technology and Ideas, eds. Emily Goldman, and Leslie Eliason. Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 371–403.
Grossman, Lev. 2013. “Drone Home.” Time, February 11.
Horowitz, Michael C. 2010. The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and
Consequences for International Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Horowitz, Michael C., and Matthew Fuhrmann. 2014. “Droning on: Explaining the
Proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.” Social Science Research Network.
Last modified October 24, 2015. http://ssrn.com/abstract=2514339.
Kreps, Sara, and Micah Zenko. 2014. “The Next Drone Wars: Preparing for
Proliferation.” Foreign Affairs 93 (2): 68-79.
12