>What’s worse, say experts, it’s too late for the United States to do anything about it.
This is an extraordinary comment to make, when they have used drones more than anyone.
This is an extraordinary comment to make, when they have used drones more than anyone.
'The USA has been igniting and fuelling this arms race with ever greater use and weaponization of drones, but now the process is self-sustaining. Even if the USA should cease developments of its drone program and start decommissioning the crafts, that in itself would not stop drone armament, since several other actors would in all probability continue developments on programs that are now already in full action'
As an aside, if you were right: Unpalatable as the sentiment may be, there is still something to the notion that the USA does have a lot of influence over major parts of the world. I think we can all generally agree that as a nation they do have an unusual degree of possibilities to set examples and fashions, and I like it much better when the administration feels like championing human rights or restrictions on certain kinds of particularly nasty weapons than when it's bent on exporting new justifications for steps towards totalitarianism or more cost-effective ways to slaughter people.
So if people in general indeed seem to think that the USA has both possibility and some kind of obligation to do things like try to curtail a rise in drone warfare, I actually feel kind of pleased at that. To the extent that it's real, I think it's welcome, and to the extent that it's conceit, maybe it's at least a constructive one.
FFS drones are basicly RC planes not Nukes
Ahem. It's a bit of a stretch to call Reapers and Predators RC planes. Not to mentioned UAV spacecraft[1, 2]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37
[2] http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/unmanned-air-force-space-plane-l...
[1] EDIT: I suppose, really, all of them are custom and not COTS, yet. I meant one-off, low production UAVs with a specific application in mind. Their design standards are far lower (because of cost) and have no real maintenance plan (again, because of cost). They just need cameras in the sky in a specific area, and sending another aircraft (like Predator) out may not be feasible (cost, time, risk).