Drone Warfare: Ethical Explorations

With the increased use of armed drones has come closer scrutiny of the legal and ethical dimensions. In the first chapter of this book, the author makes an assessment of the lethal use of drone technologies, measured in terms of their legality, morality, and overall effectiveness. Armed unmanned aerial vehicles -- combat drones -- have fundamentally altered the ways the United States conducts military operations aimed at countering insurgent and terrorist organisations. Drones may reduce risks to human soldiers but the question arises as to whether they permit the initiation or escalation of conflict by promoting civic disengagement. The authors of the second chapter offer an analysis of the dimensions surrounding this argument.