Report: Demand for UAVs Rises as Costs Drop
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עברית (Hebrew)
The falling cost of acquiring drones will see them increasingly used in warfare and surveillance, a leading think tank said Wednesday, although it believes citizens are unlikely to accept fully autonomous deadly attacks.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) made the claim in its annual assessment of global military capabilities. It also noted a continuing trend of Asian military spending surging ahead as European defense budgets shrink.
According to Defense News at the launch of the Military Balance 2014 in London, IISS military aerospace expert Doug Barrie said the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, would increase, although they would continue to co-exist next to manned aircraft.
iHLS – Israel Homeland Security
He said the assumption entering the 21st century had been that autonomous drones would soon completely replace piloted planes. “I think there’s been a step back from that to some extent. I think you will see mixed use for quite some time,” he said, but acknowledged that the range of drones’capabilities would increase.
The IISS said the increased use of drones was accompanied by legal and ethical questions, including whether attacks could be justified as self-defense and whether they constitute a proportional response to the status of individuals targeted.
Discussions in Western states have included reservations about the potential use of fully autonomous armed UAVs, without humans piloting the devices from the ground.
