You drones are unmanned aircraft used in some military operations, such as reconnaissance of geographic areas, surveillance against urban demonstrations or even actions of military attack with the aim of avoiding casualties of soldiers, which can occur on planes manned.
In the context of the war on terror, the drones have been used to attack specific locations in countries where the governments of some nations, notably the US, believe there are people suspected of terrorism. The use of this type of equipment, especially in the war on terror, a conflict in which they are not involved nations and not necessarily regular armies, takes place within the borders of countries that are not in war. It is with these objectives that a series of attacks on countries accused of supporting terrorism have been carried out in the 2000s and 2010, including investigations opened by the UN to investigate attacks in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Palestine, whose victims of drone attacks were, in their majority, civilians.
How do drones work?
Originally created as reconnaissance vehicles, as they could save the lives of military personnel on missions of this kind, the drones they were also used as attack weapons, gaining rapid development since their inception. Currently, they are capable of carrying out missile attacks.
The first drones appeared in the USA in 1953 and were used only as spy ships. In 1994, the US Armed Forces began testing weapons-loaded drones, and their first use in combat occurred in Afghanistan, beginning in October 2001. From then on, the use was constant in the call war on terror.
Its use requires an extensive technological apparatus that includes ground operating bases, auxiliary aircraft and a satellite monitoring network. Attacks are made from locations far from the targets to be hit, operated from computer screens that expose the area to be attacked.
As it is unmanned, it does not allow enemies to be surrendered, resulting only in the elimination of the target. As in a video game, drone operators attack their enemies, claiming lives from a remote control. The sinister simplicity of its execution contrasts with the difficulty of precision, resulting in a large number of innocent people being killed.
After all, are drones really a legal weapon?
In the context of the war on terror, whose enemies are not regular armies or guerrillas, the defenders of use of drones say this weapon is necessary to attack targets in a country without a declaration of war. The new war dynamic would justify their use, thus characterizing drones as weapons for legal use.
However, because it does not give the enemy any capacity to surrender and because it is not possible to distinguish whether the target is civilian or military, drones have been the target of intense debate over the legality of their use. The international war conventions point out the need for a soldier, who is carrying a any weapon, to distinguish the target and thus prevent the death of innocent civilians and enable the surrender. As drones do not make this possible, they have been pointed out as an illegal weapon in the sphere of International Law.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/drones-guerra-moderna.htm