We posted a pretty interesting video over at DoD Buzz yesterday that I wanted to bring to your attention.
It’s fairly detailed look at a Predator/Reaper strike simulated by what looks like company officials, though I’d bet this is what a CIA strike might look like.
The video is both fascinating and at the same time disturbing.
For one, it’s amazing the control and detailed view available to the “pilot” and “sensor.” It just blows me away that two people can control several drones from an air conditioned trailer 2,000 miles away — or 100 miles away. The ability for the operators to distinguish targets, coordinate with controllers in theater and speak with spotters on the ground is just surreal and a real testament to America’s technical capabilities and adaptation.
Of course, the video is also creepy in the almost clinical way in which the pilot and sensor deliver their lethal blow. Calm, collected — and totally detached from any impact of what they’ve done. It’s one thing to launch doomsday out of a Minuteman missile tube — talk about detachment! …it’s another to launch a missile at a pickup truck you’ve never seen with your own eyes and have no real sense of the impact of that death on your daily life. A pilot returning to an air base safer because there’s one less SVBID on the road has more of a sense of his strike’s impact than the contractor in the trailer at Langley.
This is clearly the way aerial warfare is going — I get it. But it’s going to raise many ethical dilemmas along the way.
– Christian
My grand father was 20 and soldier in 1940, he had a 1914 rifle with 10 cartridges and a hand grenade. His friend were killed by a tank. He jumped in a river and the tank was unable to shoot him (too low). Yes, he had to surrender in front of the german tanks, then he spend 5 years as a prisonner.
French army killed a lot of german and more than 100000 french soldiers died to allow british army to escape on their island. The english planes that did not fight in France save England from invasion. English army would not have been able to fight the German on the ground.
European countries surrendered to Napol
My grandfather was a German soldier during WWII. My mother saw Hitler in person when she was 7 years old. She was a German citizen at the time.
I was born in the US. I love the world.… every bit of it. War sucks.
Some here speak of “talking” to enemies to avoid war. Understood but not always effective. Sometimes we talk for years but all it does is allow the problem to get harder to resolve. Look at NK and Iran. When are the Europeans going to deal with these people? Go talk to them please and explain how we don’t want them to threaten peace. Go ask them to be nice would you please?
Guerilla FTW
You can have a massive firepower capable of blowing Earth hundreds time, without brains, strategies and politics, you’re doomed, epic fail incoming
(Last note)
About all the bullshit about french being coward and stuff :
To french : don’t listen to them, just laught at it.
To US/UK kids : keep thinking french were cowards, same with south-vietnamese, korean, japanese, irakian, afghan, etc… You can’t understand what is having a war on his own territory, why even trying ?
9/11 ? it was not a war, just a terrorist attack, like many countries deal with every year.
About “collabo”, french helping the nazi, keep in mind there was some nazis in USA, a lot of US people were against jews, some nazis were protect by USA after WW2 (some of them hidden in south america). USA decided to attack Hitler only when they saw that Hitler was going to pwn them if he got all Europe, and it was not Hitler, it would have been Staline pwning Europe.
Talking about cowards, USA waited the last moment to enter in the war and never dropped ammo/weapons/antitank for Spanish resistance nor French resistance (only few British Sten and TNT)… When British and French Foreign Army were in Africa fighting Rommel (not really a newb FYI), US was waiting like a coward…
That chick in the video’s totally hot. Paste, can you get me a date?
It’s 2009, not 1945.
This topic is full of stupid and useless commentaries, it’s hard to believe, but even more than mine.
I hope they will recruit amongst the best guilds in world of warcaft players. It will be the same, “focus the godamn terrorist”, “I need assist”, there will be only a lack of Healers.
The more detachment we create between the act and the death, the easier it will for us to kill.
Think about it.
Roger Wilco means I heard you and I will comply.
‘…disturbing sense of detachment …’
well, is that any different than a 300 meter kill
with a squad machine gun?
do our soldiers have to have their
fingers around the enemys necks to
keep this from being disturbing?
i have a good sense that the military people who have
served to keep ‘ya all’ free, don;t think war is a game.
they know the bottom line.
if you think freedom is nothing, what do you think
is something?
Dont’ you think that terrorists will soon have those toys too ?
For one you’ll kill, how many will want to revenge ?
If anyway they have nothing to loose living in poverty under bombs, they will revenge.
.
one thing to stop all of this is to give them help and money — just a ridiculous part of the astronomics budget you invest in thoses weapons, that will get back on you.
.
but the lobby of weapons leads the world — dividing us to shut our voices.
.
or eslse explain me why no one want war but there is war everywhere ?…
pierre from france
Pentagon and weapons dealer are so good at making their marketing! They use now both Holywood and the internet…
USA hasn’t won a war for a long time because they still see the world in black and white. Ah, this great idea of the Axis of Evil”!
How better intoxicate candid people such as Marc who see the world only on Fox News.
World is complex, rich and wide. Go and see for yourself before trusting what the Pentagon or or your TV is showing you. And, then only then, maybe you will understand the stupidity of these Joysticks and others so called demonstration of American supremacy in technology. The only thing they have succeeded , was to make some Texas guys richer, have more than half of the world population hating USA, and have Bin Laden laughing when he sees everyone striped when getting on a plane. 9/11 terrorists didn’t use any bomb, remember?
The only way to fight terrorism is to fight the cause of it: poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger..
Some American people such as Bill Gates or hopefully your actual president, have understood this and I would encourage you all to go on http://www.ted.com and listen to them (good example is http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/bill_gates_unpl...
Do you know for example that what the FAO (United Nations Development Program) than only 30 billions$ would be necessary to stop the entire world from malnutrition for ever? (have a look at http://www.stopthehunger.com/). The United Nations Development Program estimates that the basic health and nutrition needs of the world’s poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. Animal lovers in the United States and Europe spend more than that on pet food each year.
Cost of Iraq war by itself has been 700 billions! Afghanistan 236!
Think about it, you can eradicate hunger in the world for 5% of this year US military budget ($663 billions)
And I can assure you that this would be much more efficient than thousands of “predators” to keep your children safe…
So next time before voting for people that keep on scaring you with so called outside Terror in order to better manage you, think twice. Fear is your worst enemy and carrying a gun wont take it away. America needs to grow up from a teen ager nation worshiping the cow boys and Schwartzy and show the world its true value of humanism and tolerance. Raise up citizens, and give the world a big hug, it will be more efficient than playing with gadgets such as this Predator. What a great name by the way, it shows the level of maturity of its inventors.
Big kisses to all
Pierre
The only way to fight terrorism is to fight the cause of it: poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger..
Some American people such as Bill Gates or hopefully your actual president, have understood this and I would encourage you all to go on http://www.ted.com and listen to them (good example is http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/bill_gates_unpl...
Do you know for example that what the FAO (United Nations Development Program) than only 30 billions$ would be necessary to stop the entire world from malnutrition for ever? (have a look at http://www.stopthehunger.com/). The United Nations Development Program estimates that the basic health and nutrition needs of the world’s poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. Animal lovers in the United States and Europe spend more than that on pet food each year.
Cost of Iraq war by itself has been 700 billions! Afghanistan 236!
Think about it, you can eradicate hunger in the world for 5% of this year US military budget ($663 billions)
And I can assure you that this would be much more efficient than thousands of “predators” to keep your children safe…
So next time before voting for people that keep on scaring you with so called outside Terror in order to better manage you, think twice. Fear is your worst enemy and carrying a gun wont take it away. America needs to grow up from a teen ager nation worshiping the cow boys and Schwartzy and show the world its true value of humanism and tolerance. Raise up citizens, and give the world a big hug, it will be more efficient than playing with gadgets such as this Predator. What a great name by the way, it shows the level of maturity of its inventors.
Big kisses to all
Pierre
Pentagon and weapons dealer are so good at making their marketing! They use now both Holywood and the internet…
USA hasn’t won a war for a long time because they still see the world in black and white. Ah, this great idea of the Axis of Evil”!
How better intoxicate candid people such as Marc who see the world only on Fox News.
World is complex, rich and wide. Go and see for yourself before trusting what the Pentagon or or your TV is showing you. And, then only then, maybe you will understand the stupidity of these Joysticks and others so called demonstration of American supremacy in technology. The only thing they have succeeded , was to make some Texas guys richer, have more than half of the world population hating USA, and have Bin Laden laughing when he sees everyone striped when getting on a plane. 9/11 terrorists didn’t use any bomb, remember?
The only way to fight terrorism is to fight the cause of it: poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger..
Some American people such as Bill Gates or hopefully your actual president, have understood this and I would encourage you all to go on http://www.ted.com and listen to them (good example is http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/bill_gates_unpl...
Do you know for example that what the FAO (United Nations Development Program) than only 30 billions$ would be necessary to stop the entire world from malnutrition for ever? (have a look at http://www.stopthehunger.com/). The United Nations Development Program estimates that the basic health and nutrition needs of the world’s poorest people could be met for an additional $13 billion a year. Animal lovers in the United States and Europe spend more than that on pet food each year.
Cost of Iraq war by itself has been 700 billions! Afghanistan 236!
Think about it, you can eradicate hunger in the world for 5% of this year US military budget ($663 billions)
And I can assure you that this would be much more efficient than thousands of “predators” to keep your children safe…
So next time before voting for people that keep on scaring you with so called outside Terror in order to better manage you, think twice. Fear is your worst enemy and carrying a gun wont take it away. America needs to grow up from a teen ager nation worshiping the cow boys and Schwartzy and show the world its true value of humanism and tolerance. Raise up citizens, and give the world a big hug, it will be more efficient than playing with gadgets such as this Predator. What a great name by the way, it shows the level of maturity of its inventors.
Big kisses to all
Pierre