Predator Drones = Enemy Combatants?

gimmesometruth27

i understand what you are getting at, but i think you are thinking of the wrong definition of "civil" Cosmo. of course you are right in that no wars are "civil" meaning that they lack adequate amounts of courtesy and politeness.

but the definition of the term "civil war" is a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country. they do not happen very often, but they are devestating to that country and potentially that entire region of a continent.

just thought i would throw that out there....carry on :wave:

tybird

Tenzing N. wrote:

Get used to drones. They will become more and more utilized as long as we fight enemies who have no air forces.

My Brother in law is a Lt. Col in the USAF....he told me that the drones are the future reality of warfare....and drones are now goal in the arms races.....China, Russia and most everybody else with the money and know-how are rushing to get in the drone business. This issue echoes where the business of war stood a century ago with the development of airplanes, dreadnought ships and machine guns. That evolution in our killing ability lead to the concept of "total war." In "total war," everybody in either(all) belligerent nation-state(s) is fair game. So in Cosmo's original scenario, yes, the drone pilots state-side are fair targets according to the "rules" of "total war."

gimmesometruth27

tybird wrote:

Tenzing N. wrote:

Get used to drones. They will become more and more utilized as long as we fight enemies who have no air forces.

My Brother in law is a Lt. Col in the USAF....he told me that the drones are the future reality of warfare....and drones are now goal in the arms races.....China, Russia and most everybody else with the money and know-how are rushing to get in the drone business. This issue echoes where the business of war stood a century ago with the development of airplanes, dreadnought ships and machine guns. That evolution in our killing ability lead to the concept of "total war." In "total war," everybody in either(all) belligerent nation-state(s) is fair game. So in Cosmo's original scenario, yes, the drone pilots state-side are fair targets according to the "rules" of "total war."

and to add to this, fighter planes will be a thing of the past in the next 20 years or so. when is the last time there has been a true aerial war complete with opposing air forces having actual dogfights? maybe the first gulf war? maybe if we fought countries with actual airforces there might be a need for fighter planes. but if we are going to keep going after things like al-queda then the fighter plane in the classic sense is obsolete...they will be more of a combo pursuit/light bomber instead of being a pure fighter plane.. i don't think we will ever see true aerial dogfights again...

Cosmo

The problem with remotely controlled drones is this...
Since the aircraft are remotely operated, it means these needs to be a signal sent to it. This signal is encrypted, but can still be intercepted. If it can be intercepted and decrypted and sent back... someone else can gain control.
This is an extremely slim probability because of the security built into the system... but, it still relys on a broadcast signal. The atmosphere is open to everyone.
...
The next generation drones will be autonomous. Pre-programmed for a tactical mission, but maintain the ability to recognize targets of oppurtuniys along the way. They will assess the threat, prioritize the targets and dispatch of the greater threat.
Example: A craft is dispatched to take out a target. Along the way, it encounters troops and vehicles, distinguishes whether they are friend or foe... if foe, it assesses the threat and decides if this new target is more of a threat than the original target. If it is not, it continues on its original mission... destroys that target and (if possible) leaves enough munitions onboard to take out the secondary target in its way back.

catefrances

shall we play a game?- joshua

gimmesometruth27

catefrances wrote:

shall we play a game?- joshua

NICE!!

i have not seen that movie in years...

tybird

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

tybird wrote:

Tenzing N. wrote:

Get used to drones. They will become more and more utilized as long as we fight enemies who have no air forces.

My Brother in law is a Lt. Col in the USAF....he told me that the drones are the future reality of warfare....and drones are now goal in the arms races.....China, Russia and most everybody else with the money and know-how are rushing to get in the drone business. This issue echoes where the business of war stood a century ago with the development of airplanes, dreadnought ships and machine guns. That evolution in our killing ability lead to the concept of "total war." In "total war," everybody in either(all) belligerent nation-state(s) is fair game. So in Cosmo's original scenario, yes, the drone pilots state-side are fair targets according to the "rules" of "total war."

and to add to this, fighter planes will be a thing of the past in the next 20 years or so. when is the last time there has been a true aerial war complete with opposing air forces having actual dogfights? maybe the first gulf war? maybe if we fought countries with actual airforces there might be a need for fighter planes. but if we are going to keep going after things like al-queda then the fighter plane in the classic sense is obsolete...they will be more of a combo pursuit/light bomber instead of being a pure fighter plane.. i don't think we will ever see true aerial dogfights again...

The latest Balkan wars might be the last conflict with both sides having combat air forces that were used...shadow organizations like al-Queda may have the money to buy planes, but the infrastructure to support those planes requires space....to store, land and repair those planes.....not many planes that can hide in caves....drones on the other hand.

tybird

catefrances wrote:

shall we play a game?- joshua

Tic Tac Toe?

catefrances

wouldnt you prefer a nice game of chess?

gimmesometruth27

catefrances

lets play global thermonuclear war.