帕尔默辩论无人机的伦理

玛丽安·豪斯,2024年4月5日                                                          

In 1579, 诗人约翰·莱利写道, “the rules of fair play do not 应用 in love 和 war,他说的对吗?? 战争中一切都是公平的吗? 迪伦·帕尔默24岁, a computer science major at 维吉尼亚州 Military Institute, considered the dilemma when he presented his honors thesis, “无人机对策, 道德, 和 Drones’ Effects on a Modern Battlefield.”

据帕默说, the nature of unmanned systems inherently reduces the risk to operators conducting missions during wartime. “Drones are put into combat situations because they can be operated remotely, 和 can execute missions without putting forward expensive human operators into very dangerous situations. Drones have the great advantage of being a cost effective 和 incredibly potent weapon in wartime. With the increase in technology 和 3D printing, drones have become more lightweight 和 smaller. There has been a massive increase in the use of small drone airframes provided to soldiers, 和 can lift the omnipresent fog of war,他说.  

All drones can execute very powerful strikes, 和 reduce the risk of collateral damage because the weapon system also conducts its own reconnaissance. Just like any technology with their greater implementation, 存在合法性问题, 策略, 以及必须回答的道德问题.

The use of drones in the modern battlefield has grown to greater numbers never before seen, 就像阿塞拜疆-亚美尼亚战争一样, 俄乌战争, 以及以色列和哈马斯的战争. Palmer focused primarily on 俄乌战争 for his research. “The use of drones is a necessity for a conventional war to be conducted, but it is not a sufficient capability for achieving victory in a contemporary conflict. Drones can’t take territory on their own, but they can work with humans to take territory, 中和战士, 和 have a greater effect on the battlefield with less casualties,他说。.

Commercial drones have been used by both Russia 和 Ukraine during the conflict, introducing a new way of viewing air littoral, the airspace from the ground up to 500 feet. 在使用小型无人机之前, the only aircraft that flew in the air literal were helicopters for air assault missions. “Now with the proliferation of drones in this in this airspace, it has created a minefield in the sky. It’s very hard to come for runways to deploy military aircraft without drones being an issue. Drones have been used to destroy aircraft on the ground, 和 helicopters 和 other low-flying aircraft are experiencing greater risk,帕尔默说。.

There are three primary NATO categorizations of drones based on weight, 有效载荷能力, 和 range of action: contact drones less than 150 kg; tactical drones from 150-600 kg; attack, strategic 和 operational drones over 600 kg. Common uses of drones in the Russo-Ukrainian 以及以色列和哈马斯的战争s are loitering 和 munitions. These drones conduct their own reconnaissance, can loiter in an area for a certain period of time, 然后被摧毁. 里面装满了炸药, focused on taking out small targets as well as people as a massive morale hit to the enemy. They are commonly known as kamikaze or suicide drones.


With the proliferation of drones all across the world, there needs to be drone countermeasures. Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) are used to detect 和/or disable unmanned aircraft. Palmer estimates there may be up to 1,000 of these systems currently in service. C-UAS use many different methods to detect, track, 识别, 拦截无人机, 包括雷达, 无线电频率, 光电, 红外, 声, 激光, 大功率微波, 网, 和炮弹. Most C-UAS are limited in their range 和 abilities, 因此,功能必须分层, 这是很昂贵的.  


With the implementation of almost any technology, ethics must be considered. Should drones face the same legal scrutiny as any other conventional weapons? Palmer总结道,是的. While the technological advances of drones increase the probability of success 和 decrease the risk of collateral damage, 完全的风险是永远无法消除的. Drones have become a necessary feature of war, 和 change the way wars are fought. 

帕默的研究顾问, 帕瑞克豪阿米什, instructor in the Department of Computer 和 Information 科学s, stated that drone technology has exp和ed across the board. “Dylan did an excellent job of examining the distinct aspects of drone capabilities, including the recent addition of carrying munitions for kamikaze operations,帕里克说. 

Palmer is the son of Jewel 和 Bill Palmer of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He attended 费什伯恩 Military School (Class of 2020 graduate) in Waynesboro, 维吉尼亚州, 和 will be commissioning into the U.S. 毕业后参军.

vmi -