What are drones?

A drone also known as a UAV (unmanned air vehicle) is an aircraft that is controlled from a pilot from the ground or have a pre-installed mission. There are many different types of drones, but they mostly fall into two categories; the ones that are used for surveillance and reconnaissance, then there are the ones that are armed with bombs and missiles to attack certain locations.

The use of drones however has grown a lot in these past few years, because they can be used longer than a manned aircraft and they are also a lot cheaper to make than a regular aircraft. To add on to all of that, there is also no danger to the flight crew, well because they have none. Primarily these drones are mostly flying over Iraq and Afghanistan; however they are not necessarily always controlled from any locations in Iraq or Afghanistan. They can be controlled from places such as Nevada at Nellis and Creech USAF bases. It’s not just a one man team; they need a team of three. One ‘flies’ the drone, the second operates the screens and monitors, and the third keeps in contact with the troops on the ground.

The U.S. has two squadrons of armed drones; one is used by the Air Force and the other by the CIA. The CIA primarily uses their drones to assassinate terrorist leaders or other targets. The United States isn't the only country in the world to have drones, the UK also has drones, they have basically the same ones as the U.S. but their designs may be a little different from ours.

There has been some serious concern with the use of drones. Mostly pointed at the U.S. the UN (United Nations) would like to know how they justify killing valuable targets or terrorist leaders. The UN would also like to make how many civilians are killed by the drone strikes public; just to prevent any more casualties than that.

The drone manufacturers are also looking for civilian use as well. If the drones are used for civilian use, surveillance on civilians will be increased tenfold.  With technology increasing rapidly, drones could even possibly be used to recognize facial patterns, human behaviors, and even listen in on conversations.

As crazy as all of this sounds, in my opinion, I think that drones aren't worth our time. It may mean in military use that it’s a cheaper and safer alternative than using actual pilots, but they are a menace, because pilots of these drones will stop caring about the civilians, because they aren't experiencing the actual horrors of war and won’t be horrified to stop their actions. If you want to read more about it and watch the video on the drones you can do so here.