Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Implications for Military Operations

The development of uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) could
potentially revolutionize how military force is used in the future. While
the early operational experiences with UAVs show great promise, their
full range of capabilities is largely unknown. However, it is clear that
these technologies will enable military forces to use aerospace power more
efficiently, which means at lower cost and with less risk to the humans
who pilot aircraft.

The broader question is the wisdom of using unmanned aerial
vehicles for employing lethal force, and in particular which air power
missions are best accomplished by uninhabited, piloted, and autonomous
vehicles. The corollary is to examine the essential roles of human pilots or
operators in aerospace operations in the twenty-first century. Since it is
common to draw distinctions between vehicles with an on-board pilot,
vehicles with off-board operators, and autonomous vehicles, this study
explores the essential role of pilots and contrasts it with the roles of
remotely piloted and autonomous vehicles.

The assumption is that piloted, remotely piloted, and autonomous
vehicles have advantages and disadvantages in military operations, and
that these vary in strategic significance for different levels of conflict.
Since it is essential for the U.S. defense establishment to consider the
strategic and technological implications of these types of aerial vehicles,
this study is devoted to addressing the issues raised by the new generation
of aerial vehicles.