Drones - "The Unblinking Eye"

The use of drones to attack al Qaeda and senior Taliban leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan has been described by supporters as effective in killing off the high-value targets and disrupting insurgent operations. It is described by critics as ineffective and causing civilian casualties. Some research indicates that civilian casualties have decreased each year but there is also research that counters this argument. The two drones used by the Central Intelligence Agency are the Predator and the Reaper - both are armed reconnaissance drones that can loiter for hours (something that a jet or missile cannot do). Drones are better suited to identifying targets (in some cases). Steve Coll, a writer, is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and reports on issues of intelligence and national security in the United States and abroad. He has published a detailed report on the use of drones by the United States in Pakistan entitled "The Unblinking Stare: The Drone War in Pakistan", The New Yorker, November 24, 2014.

UK's Watchkeeper Drone

The British Army recently used the Watchkeeper drone during its withdrawal from Camp Bastion and Helmand province. Early reports are that the new drone performed well. Read more in "British Army praises performance of Watchkeeper during debut deployment", Flight Global News, November 18, 2014.

"Drone Queens" - Who Are They?

In the battle against worldwide terrorism women of the United States are playing a major role. They are very visible in the military services and also in the intelligence services. So who are the "Drone Queens"? A recent news article says that they are women in their thirties with a decade or more of experience working for the CIA hunting for terrorists. Their colleagues refer to them as "the sisterhood". The television series "Homeland" is based on  Read more in "The CIA's Real Drone Queens", Real Clear Politics, October 21, 2014.

Drones Over Pakistan

An article about drone attacks against insurgents in Pakistan provides us with some recent background on drones and their effectiveness. Read "Pakistan-US: Death From the Skies - Analysis", Eurasia Review, October 20, 2014.

Ex-US Navy Pilot - Drones are Better

Some former fighter jocks are outspoken in their support of drones. See "Ex-US Navy fighter pilot MIT prof: Drones beat humans - I should know", The A Register (UK), October 20, 2014.

Video - "Unmanned: America's Drone Wars"

A full-length video (60 minutes) entitled "Unmanned: America's Drone Wars" present an "alternative" view of the drone war conducted from the skies over Pakistan. This feature documentary is Brave New Films and directed by Robert Greenwald. There are over 70 interviews from victims, investigative journalists, and top military officials. The film focuses on the human cost of the drone war; not the military benefits of taking out the high and mid-level leadership of terrorist and insurgent organizations with drone attacks. You can view the video at the link below.

http://unmanned.warcosts.com/unmanned_about

UK Moving Drones from Afghanistan to Iraq

Britain will soon be moving its unmanned armed drones from Afghanistan to Iraq. The United Kingdom has been one of the early members of the anti-ISIS coalition and has committed aircraft (eight RAF Tornado fighter jets) and special operations forces to the conflict with ISIS. The UK's armed drone is the Reaper which can launch bombs and missiles. It usually carries two Paveway laser-guided bombs and four Hellfire missiles for precision strikes. Read more in "Britain to re-deploy drones from Afghanistan to Iraq", Yahoo! News, October 16, 2014.

Pakistan Cooperation in Drone Attacks

It appears that Pakistan is once again cooperating with the United States on drone attacks against insurgent targets in Pakistan. A series of drone attacks conducted by the CIA in early October leads some observers to conclude that the cooperation is improving. It would appear that the drone attacks are in support of Pakistani military operations in the North Waziristan tribal area. The Pakistani military has launched a months-long offensive against Pakistan Taliban insurgents. Read more in "Pakistan, U.S. again cooperating on drone strikes", News and Observer, October 14, 2014.

Brief History of Drones

Chris Cole, an author who has wrote a series of articles on UAVs and drones for Global Research has provided us with yet one more entitled Rise of the Reapers: A Brief History of Drones, (October 6, 2014). The article brings us from the early years when the Royal Navy (UK) developed some drones for gunnery practice in the 1930s. He takes us to the period following the Second World War where the US developed the Firebee drone for air target practice and later reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. He mentions the role of Israel - with their development of drones in the 1970s and 1980s. He concludes with the story of the armed drones used first in Afghanistan and then in the present time throughout the Middle East and parts of North Africa. A very well researched article and extremely educational. Learn more about drones.

More Drone News

It seems that the United States has a shortage of drones in the Middle East and that is hampering operations in Iraq and Syria. Wow! I thought we had thousands of drones of all types by now; and we still don't have enough? Hmmm. Read more in "Shortage of Drones Hampers U.S. Military Missions", The Weekly Standard, October 9, 2014.

Toll on Drone Pilots

Here is another article providing us with the line that drone pilots suffer from PTSD and depression. It lets us know that drone warfare still produces casualties on the U.S. side. I suppose it is tough working 12 hours a day in that air conditioned room in Nevada and then getting home every night to your family eating steak and drinking beer. I am not sure it is the same type of PTSD that the Army SPC4 gets after having spent a year-long tour at a place like COP Jaghato in Wardak province or a Marine's time at Camp Dwyer in Helmand province. But then what do I know - I have seen Jaghato but my experience in Nevada is four short trips to Las Vegas. Read more in "Stop Pretending Drone Warfare is Casualty-Free for America", Time.com, October 7, 2014.

Analysis - "Do Drones Have a Future?"

A lengthy analysis was posted on October 7, 2014 on the War on the Rocks website entitled "Do Drones Have a Future?" The bottom line is that the future ". . . looks less favorable". The article states that budget cuts and bureaucratic resistance are cutting back on the growth of drones. The article provides a summary of the drones within each service (Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines) and some of the needs, gaps, and issues associated with the services. Some snippets of the article follow. The Air Force, despite training a huge number of drone pilots, does not have good promotion futures for drone operators. The Navy is having some problems with the roll-out of its Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft. (I think the acronym hurts the program!). The Marines need a sea-based system similar to the Predator or Reaper to support their expeditionary operations. The Army, surprisingly, seems to be in the lead in terms of innovation - take note of its manned-unmanned teaming concept pairing up UAVs with Apache helicopters. The article also addresses some of the cultural aspects of drone deployment and future technologies to be on the watch for. Very informative and worth a read!

Another Drone Book

It seems that there is an abundance of recently published books on drones. It is hard to keep track of them. I never realized just how many drone experts there were in the world. Yet another one is entitled Predator, the Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution by Richard Whittle - the book was released in September 2014. Whittle has also wrote a book called "The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey". Read a book review of Whittle's drone book here.

Pakistan Drone Attacks Continue

The United States is continuing drone attacks against targets in Pakistan. Two more drone strikes occurred in North and South Waziristan recently. Both areas are Taliban-controlled tribal agency areas. The drones, operated by CIA pilots, have been targeting al Qaeda and other insurgent targets in Pakistan. There have been only 11 drone strikes in Pakistan in 2014; all taken place in the last few months (none prior to June). Read more in a news article by The Long War Journal  dated October 6, 2014.

A Review of Books on Drones and War

A freelance writer, based in Northampton (a small country town somewhere in New England) provides us with her (Katharine Whittemore) views on drone warfare and explores with us some of the books she has read on the topic. See "New flight plan on drones", The Boston Globe, September 27, 2014.

Drone Attacks Continue

Despite the draw down of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan there is still some kinetic activity going on. "A suspected U.S. drone fired four missiles at a vehicle carrying Uzbek and local militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing 10 of them, two Pakistani intelligence officials said". Read the rest of the story - "Officials: US Drone Kills 10 in Northwest Pakistan", AP Big Story, September 24, 2014.

Book Review -"Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution"

Richard Whittle, a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., has recently published a book - "Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution". The history of the drones is examined as well as the current use of armed drones in the war against terror. Read a book review in "New Book Details History of Predator Drone", Defense Tech, September 19, 2014.

How UK Deploys Reapers to Afghanistan

This news article provides a series of photos that show how the United Kingdom deploys its Reapers (drones) to Afghanistan. Call it "drone in a box". Read the news story here in The Aviationist (Sep 19, 2014).

Book Review - "Drone Warfare"

John Kaag and Sarah Kreps have wrote a book entitled Drone Warfare. The book was reviewed by Olivia Mena - a PhD candidate in the Sociology Department at the London School of Economics. She says the book " . . . is an interdisciplinary intervention jointly authored by a political scientist and a philosopher who grapple with how the use of armed drones not only changes the way we wage wars, but also, perhaps our very definitions of war and peace". The book is divided into three sections - the politics of drones, legality of drones, and the morality drones. Read the book review here on the website of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Video - "Do Drones Work?"

Georgetown University Security Studies Program Professors Daniel Byman, Christin Fair, and Christoper Swift discuss the United States' use of drones in prosecuting the war on terrorism. The panelists discuss issues surrounding the drone program, including its efficacy, legality, and future use. (YouTube, 80 minutes).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDRRr-_Qq7A