The Drone a Weapon That Can Change the Concept of War

The Drone is a versatile weapon. It is a pilotless aircraft that is capable of carrying missiles and can be used for attacking targets. The Drone is a marvel of technology and is a force multiplier in any combat or operation. It is particularly effective in operations against terrorist groups and individual leaders of these groups.  So far the Drone technology is aUS preserve, but no longer and there is a chance that other countries will get hold of this technology and use it. It could even fall into the hands of terror groups and then the fat will be in the fire.

Recently at the Zhuhai air show in South westChinain November last year,Chinahad startled Western countries particularly theUSAby unveiling 25 models of remotely controlled aircraft. They also showed a video animation of a missile –drone attack on an armored carrier as well as a US Aircraft carrier. The Zhuhai isChina's biggest air show and show cases its achievements in the field of aviation.

The portent of this showcasing of unmanned aircraft is not lost on theUSA. It is a stark reminder that the superpower may at some stage itself face drone attacks from a military adversary or a terrorist group that may be able to lay its hands on a UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle). TheUSadministration headed by Bush earlier and Obama has religiously followed a policy which has arrogated a right for theUSAto attack anybody or anyone who theUSAconsiders is a threat to it, irrespective of border lines and sovereignty of nations. The results have been telling and it is a known fact that inPakistan's lawlessNorth Westmore than 2000 terrorists have been killed by Drone attacks. InYemenlast week theUScould track down one of its own renegade citizens   Anwar-al- Awalaki, who had embraced an alien faith to destroy his own country was similarly neutralized.

But with an expansion of this Drone technology into the hands of other countries the possibilities can be frightening.Chinacould use this technology to take out Uighur Muslim terrorist in hiding inKazakhstan. Uighur Muslims are accused byChinaof plotting terrorist attacks in Sinkiang.Russiacould send drones to attack Muslim terror groups inCentral Asia. The list is endless and American officials who may protest will have the rule book thrown back at them.

 Thus withChinashow casing an array of Drones an arms race in this field is unleashed.  This technology which was so far only withUSA,Israeland theUKis now spreading. Without sounding alarmist, there is a real chance that this technology could pass into the hands of Terror groups that are inimical to theUSAlike al Qaeda and Taliban. This is a real threat and the development of the technological curve could very land this in the hands of the opponents of theUSA. There is a real possibility that theUSAcould face these groups in the future armed with this technology. After all with all its stress on non –proliferation of Nuclear weapons theUSAhas been unable to stopIranandNorth Koreafrom getting these weapons

 P R Singer in his book ‘Wired for War' talks of robotic combat. He says just at the end of World War I only a handful of countries had the aircraft as a weapon of war. Now it's universal and similarly the UAV can also become universal. The future thus has dark possibilities.

About the Author

MG Singh is an ex Air Force Officer who took premature retirement.He is an aluminus of the staff collge and after retirement has been in the corporate field as a Vice President and Director. Qualified in law and management MG has penned 2 novels and is a significant writer on the net with over 1000 articles.