While the article's header shows a picture of the IDF's portable drones, no mention is made of Israeli drone technology in the article.

....that those drones would last about, ohhh, 5 minutes in a war against an opponent that can shoot back.

I mean, just look at 'em: if you fought the Battle of Britain with those things then the Spitfires and the Hurricanes would still have won, because even 60-year old piston engined fighters would make mincemeat out of them.

....required to keep the drones in the air, '168 for a Predator and 180 for a Reaper'. Not cost-effective at all but does create jobs and on the other hand it helps in reducing the population of 'dark skinned uncivilsed heathens' out to destray 'the modern western civilisation.'

What's more important jobs or a few dead 'scums of the earth?' Who decides?

The possibilities are almost limitless. Who knows? Perhaps we can get the blasted things to transport animals & eventually, once safety is fully established, even people. At a minimum, Federal Express could be put out of business.

We should think about the marketing potential for drones and missiles.

Be the first family on your block to be the only family on your block!
Never worry about your annoying neighbors again, but get them before they get you!

With our armed Global Hawk package, you can wage war against the country of your choice from the comfort and convenience of your living room!

Based on some of the comments by the readers of Foreign Policy, this could be a profitable enterprise. That is the first scary thought of the week.

Hey Foreign Policy, isn't it a bit pathetic to make us click 4x to read content that could easily be put on one page? Are you really that desperate for ad money?

Skynet?

I like how Iran named it's Drone the Ambassador of Death carrying the message of peace and friendship !

Drones have become the weapon of choice because of the secrecy involved. They may or may not actually kill any evil person, no one knows. they might actually kill nothing more than Cows or worse Innocent people, but again, no one actually knows as you know, we can't confirm nor deny the existence of such a program.

I corrected Tom Ricks on this point last year and its sad to see it repeated. The first armed drones were developed by the Navy to hunt submarines and further experiments were conducted by ARPA (now DAPRA) to conduct strike missions in Southeast Asia. The USAF further experimented with armed drones in mid-late 1970s before they lost interest in it because of their institutional preference for manned systems.

See more here: http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/07/08/armed_drones_are_far_older_than_tom_thinks_a_short_history_of_the_uav_4_u

Also, seeing as the AV-optimized AGM-114P HELLFIRE is roughly the same size as other HELLFIREs and the MQ-1 was not dramatically redesigned to carry it, I find the suggestion that the USAF was struggling with that to be hard to believe. I think its safer to say that a high-altitude variant of the HELLFIRE missile had to be developed to prevent the drone from having to sacrifice this advantage when striking a target.

Our police in Lithuania started to use some kind of these drones. Very good stuff, esspecialy during crowded event, for surveilance. Advokatas

So, in what moral way are these different from Hitler's V-1?

Will Obama have established himself as the Terrorist in Chief? Will his enduring legacy be Health Care of Drone Warfare?

The cumulative number of casualties from these things surely far exceeds those lost in the World Trade Center attacks.

If Clinton used these to go after Bin Laden but got lots of civilians instead, then who were the original aggressors in the business of flying things into things--and people?

Landrum Kelly

Humans are expensive. Humans need statafels huren
and to eat and sometimes they get sick.

It seems we fly our drones with impunity over other nations. But would we let China, Russia or any other nation fly their future drones in US airspace? I suspect we would object vigorously.

It seems unclear what international laws allows versus a given nation's sovereignty.

I can't think of a better technology than weapon system that uses drones. Marvellous- Good heavens it is engineers' master piece. The wonderful end use is, it can eliminate the enemy on the fround with it's pin-point surgical strikes with very little co-lateral damage.

In its place what do its critics want- bows and arrows?

Obama did wat GWB didn't have the guts, or interest to do. We could cross the border almost anywhere, but having a drone over a target saves lives on both sides. Mainly the US/UK side. This war is evolving into a counter terror mission, as the ANA, ANP are mostly a joke. We leave, talibs come back, they will turn. AQ is dispersed, and the ones alive are running or hiding. Keep firing those Hellfires its working.

Strange that Clinton discovered his principles long enough to stop the indiscrimiate use of force on a largely civilian population in the same year he ignored the advice of his General Staff and obliterated the Al-Shifa pharameceutical factory in Khartoum. I realise this article is concerned with the development and use of drones rather than cruise missiles, but you just can't leave out the breathtaking hypocrisy of Clinton's policy of restraint!

In our world and our time, Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which were experimentally manufactured in 1916, were first armed in order to attempt to kill Osama bin Laden.

They were and still are proven to be unreliable due to the fact that their target abilities are far from surgical precision, they are unstable when flying in less than perfect weather and they crash very often. In addition, loss of communication with these drones is one of the many technical issues that lead to their sub par performance. After consideration, President Clinton decided to shut down the project.

Later on, Bush reopened the project, refinanced it and made used of these drones 44 times, despite the acknowledgement of the performance reports. The attacks evidently lead to casualties; bodies were often hidden and buried by troops on the ground.

However, for now, most drones aren’t exploited for military purpose. They are mostly used for surveillance, reconnaissance, news reporting, border patrolling, intelligence and inspection.

As such, most industrialized countries such as China, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, India, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Japan and Brazil do “harvest” drones. Some of the super drones have even been baptized. Israel named theirs Heron; the United States upgraded their Predator with the Avenger; and, last but not least, Iran named theirs Karrar, which is Farsi for Striker. President Ahmadinejad infamously nicknamed his Persian Menace: the Ambassador of Death.

Episode X : The Persian Menace

Do not let the Ambassador of Death mislead you into being alarmed. The Ambassador of Death is not Darth Vader’s vehicle of choice. This drone is intended for, and I quote: “Peace and Friendship“. Logically, why should we be nervous over Iran since they have not initiated any attack towards any other country in over 200 years? And yes, the Persian Gulf War has been taken in consideration when making that statement.

That being said, it evidently is not the case when shifting our attention towards the previously mentioned pro-drone countries. Over 239 drone strikes were ordered under the Obama administration. Many of these attacks were carried out against the advice of U.S. Officials and Diplomats. In fact, that tendency has led the Obama Administration of being responsible for at least 85% of drone strikes around the world, particularly in Pakistan.

This is the same Obama that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. Even then, his addition seems unsuited and undeserved, when one remembers past laureates.

As mentioned in a previous article of mine, the five countries (United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia and China) that have secured permanent United Nation seats are also the top global arm dealers. These same countries have been accusing Iran of secretly building nuclear weapons and pressuring them to halt their nuclear program.

It is important to understand or remember that the U.S. did not only assist but also coordinated the launch of the Iranian Nuclear Program in the 50s. This program was maintained for decades, until the 1979 revolution.
This support was even symbolized and categorized as the “Atoms for Peace” Program, implemented in 1953 by Eisenhower. Let’s acknowledge that a program would not be complete without an appropriate inaugural speech. And where else but at the United Nation General Assembly can a prestigious one take place? In this case, the cleverly named “Atoms for Peace” speech quickly followed Eisenhower’s “Chance for Peace” speech.

All this backing did result in the inception of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which was completed and activated thanks to Russian assistance, in 2011.
The irony! The Atoms for Peace Program’s main principle was to reassure the world during the Cold War (between 1945 and 1991). Sarcastically, the Russians presided over its closing ceremony.

As a counter attack, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board, nations and multinational entities officially reprimanded and sanctioned Iran. This judgment was internationally supported by detailed tangible and evidence. The Iranian authorities, or should I say THE Iranian Authority, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini khamenei, has not yet been successfully coerced by the international pressure. The U.N. inspectors can come and go as often as necessary, it’s all in good faith, from both parties.

Remember, it’s a ll about Peace and Friendship.

“Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane… No, it’s a drone!”

The Empire Will Strike Back. It is just a question on which Empire will strike first.

Guess who’s building nuclear power plants now?

READ MORE AT : THUSALWAYSTOGENIUS