Human Factors, UAS Remote Warfare and the Ethical and Moral issues involved
Robert J. Winn
ERAU-WW-ASCI638
12/18/2015
Abstract
For millennia, wars have set the stage for the inception and the need for advanced weaponry. Mankind has understood that those with the most advanced technology may surely win a war or at best instill enough fear of retribution in any opponent, that a war should not be undertaken in the first place. From the days of the spear, or bow and arrow to the current unmanned drones that operate in remote areas of the world, mankind will continue to develop weapons that will provide them with a distinct advantage over an enemy. Along with these advancements come the cries for ethical and moral responsibility of those that retain the technology. This paper will address those responsibilities as they pertain to use of unmanned drones in remote arenas and the human factors involved with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) compared to that of manned fighter operations. Seven technologies that have transformed warfare will be included in the paper and a discussion regarding the continued use of UAS in warfare, and what to expect in regards future improvements of their capabilities.
Keywords: advanced technology, drones, ethics, morality, remote warfare, responsibility, weaponry
Human Factors, UAS Remote Warfare and the Ethical and Moral issues involved
War has a long history that dates back to the dawn of civilization, but armies have come a long way since the spear, or the bow and arrow. Advances in technology have led to faster airplanes, laser-guided weapons, and unmanned, bomb-carrying vehicles (Chow, 2013). But none of these technologies have been introduced without relentless discussions by those claiming these advanced weapons should be wielded without some ethical or moral responsibility.
The most recent advancement in weaponry used today is that of the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or most commonly referred to as a Drone. It has not been exempt in any means from those discussions regarding ethical and moral responsibility, but by nature of its “unmanned” perception has drawn even more attention by critics.
In order to grasp an understanding of how drones provide a higher level of responsibility than that of their predecessors, six other technologies that have transformed warfare have been presented.
As with any new technology, human factors issues associated with that technology arise. UAS have introduced human factors not previously seen by manned operations performing the same missions. How these human factors are mitigated will be addressed by any future advancement to the technology.
Culture and Values
Sociologists define culture as the beliefs, values, behaviors and material objects that define a people’s way of life. (Macionis, 1995, p. 62). A cultures or societies values are further defined by their ethics and morals or their perception of right or wrong.
Ethics
The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Ethics, as a theory, has been divided into many fields of study; Metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics, the latter of which involves examining specific controversial issues such as nuclear war and the use of drones in remote warfare. It is from this area of study that determines how societies shape their opinions of what is right or wrong with wars and how technologies should or shouldn’t be used in them.
The Seven
Denise Chow presented in her article 7 Technologies that transformed warfare (2013) each of these technologies have presented their own ethical, moral as well as human factor issues:
• Drones- Combat drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, enable troops to deploy weapons in war while safely remaining thousands of miles away from the front lines of the battlefield. As such, the lives of drone pilots are not in danger, which helps the military limit the number of combat fatalities.
• Fly-by-wire- Fly-by-wire technology replaces manual flight controls with an electronic interface that uses signals generated by a computer and transmitted by wires to move control mechanisms. The introduction of fly-by-wire systems in aircraft enabled more precise computer guidance and control.
• Submarines- Submarines revolutionized naval warfare by introducing underwater vessels capable of attacking enemy ships. The first successful submarine attack on a warship occurred during the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. In February 1864, the Confederate submarine CSS H.L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic in the waters off South Carolina.
Today, the military uses submarines to carry missiles, conduct reconnaissance, support land attacks, and establish blockades.
• Tomahawk missiles- The Tomahawk is a type of long-range cruise missile designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at subsonic speeds, enabling the weapons to be used to attack various surface targets. These jet engine-powered missiles were first used operationally during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The missiles travel at speeds of approximately 550 miles per hour (880 km/h), and use GPS receivers to pinpoint their targets more accurately.
• Stealth aircraft- Stealth aircraft help pilots evade detection in the sky. While planes cannot be completely invisible to radar detection, stealth planes use a range of advanced technologies to reduce the aircraft's reflection, radio frequency spectrum, and radar and infrared emissions. Stealth technology increases the odds of a successful attack, since enemies have a harder time finding, tracking and defending against these aircraft.
The development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during World War II, but some of the most well-known modern examples of American stealth aircraft include the F-35 Lightning II, the F-22 Raptor and the B-2 Spirit.
• Space weapons- Space weapons include a range of warheads that can attack targets on Earth from space, intercept and disable missiles traveling through space, or destroy space systems or satellites in orbit. During the Cold War, both the U.S. and the former Soviet Union developed space weapons, as political tensions escalated.
While the militarization of space remains controversial, the U.S., Russia and China have developed anti-satellite weapons. Several test firings of these warheads have been successful in destroying satellites in orbit, including a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test that destroyed one of the country's defunct weather satellites.
• Nuclear Weapons- Nuclear bombs are mankind's most destructive weapons. The world's first nuclear weapons, or atomic bombs, were developed by physicists working on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
The Manhattan Project, which began in 1939, has become one of the most well-known secret research programs. The first nuclear bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, the explosion created a massive mushroom cloud, and the bomb's explosive power was equivalent of more than 15,000 tons of TNT.
In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The bombings effectively ended World War II, but ushered in decades of global fear of nuclear annihilation. To date, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in war.
Human Factors
There are numerous human factors associated with both manned and unmanned weapons systems. However, one distinct advantage of using unmanned drones in remote warfare is that it takes the limitations of manned (pilot–on–board) operations out of the equation. No longer are the flight restrictions of manned operations a factor. The drone can remain airborne for as long as its capabilities will allow, where operations of manned weapons are restricted by the physical capabilities of the pilot over longer periods of time.
This allows for more precise targeting, as the drone can hover over a target for longer periods of time to ensure that a target has been positively identified and when the decision to “take-it out” has been given, the target has been isolated as much as possible to reduce the effects of collateral damage.
Artificial Intelligence
Reg Austin (2010) suggested “the study of Artificial Intelligence probably began in the 1930s and has enjoyed a roller-coaster ride in similar fashion to that of UAS development. One is a bottom-up approach which attempts to develop neural networks akin to the operation of the human brain. The other, known as top-down, attempts to simulate the performance of a human brain by using high speed computer algorithms”. Until the Micro-Control Processor or brain of the UAS has been improved neither of these approaches will be proven.
When and if that that day comes, the implementation of this advanced technology in future wars will be decided by the ethics and morals of a global society, which must consider allowing a weapon to think for itself and target the very species that created it.
References
Austin, R. (2010) Unmanned aircraft systems : UAVs design, development and deployment Reston, Va. : American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics ; Chichester : Wiley, c2010.
Chow, D. (2013) 7 Technologies that transformed warfare LiveScience, November 19, 2013 Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/41321-military-war-technologies.html
Macionis, J. J. (1995) Sociology 5th edition, Culture Chapter 3,What is Culture?, By Prentice –Hall Inc.
