PKSOI/GLOBAL TRENDS CASE STUDIES A Drone's Strike Away | Page 4

Case Study #1118-08
PKSOI TRENDS GLOBAL CASE STUDY SERIES
maneuvered Remotec Androx Mark V A-1 behind a “brick wall” with the suspect on the other side. The robot, pur-
chased by the police department in 2008 for $151,000, sustained only minor damage to the extension arm during the
blast and, according to the chief, was still functional. 11
Three events, three vastly different operational contexts, a similar response: remotely controlled technology employed in
response to imminent threats to peace and security. What these three examples show is just a glimpse into the range and
complexity of challenges and opportunities inherent in utilizing remote controlled technology in disaster relief, stabi-
lization, and peace operations. This case also illustrates a number of moral, ethical, social, political, legal and strategic
dilemmas inherent in the use of automation in warfare, disaster relief, stabilization, and peace operations.
Why Drones?
Drone Evolution
The first use of radio-controlled aerial drones for mil-
itary purposes can be traced back to WWII, when the
German Wehrmacht debuted the “Fritz X,” a radio-con-
trolled 2,300 pound bomb with four wings, making it
the first remotely controlled weapon used to indiscrim-
inately attack large area targets, such as London, during
the late phases of the war. 12 The United States used
radio-controlled target drones during World War II to
help train aircraft gunners and less than forty years later,
Israel used a swarm of unmanned aircraft to outsmart
Soviet anti-aircraft technology in the 1982 Lebanon
War.
It wasn’t until 1995, however, that the public face of
drones, the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator UAV, en-
tered service. 13 Post-9/11, this drone was an essential
part of US Air Force operations in Iraq and Afghan-
istan, covering large sections of territory without
exposing its own aircrew to fire or capture. 14 “In 2005,
tactical and theater level unmanned aircraft (UA)
alone, had flown over 100,000 flight hours in support
of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Opera-
tion Iraqi Freedom (OIF).” 15
In 2010, drones entered the market place when the
Parrot AR, a quadcopter controlled by smartphones,
was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in
16
Las Vegas. In August 2016, just six years after drones became available to the public, Congress required that the FAA
regulate small drones within the national airspace when companies like Amazon and FedEx revealed plans for delivery
drones and movie and television producers were granted exemptions to use drones for filming purposes. 17 Within a year,
experts estimated some 600,000 commercial drone aircraft to be operating in the US as the result of new safety rules. 18
The FAA rules specify that drones must weigh less than 55 pounds, can be operated only in daylight, must remain close
enough for the person at the controls to see it at all times, can’t be flown over people and must not fly higher than 400
2