Head of armed forces predicts growing numbers of 'robot soldiers’
Thirty “bug” drones that can be held in the palm of the hand have been bought by the British Army as part of its drive to deploy more “robot soldiers” on the battlefield The nano unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) weigh only 196g, can fly for 40 minutes on one charge and are capable of spying on targets up to 2km away with a high resolution video camera
They are also powerful enough to fly at speeds of up to 50mph and cope with weather conditions including strong winds, rain and snow, according to developers BAE Systems and the UK-based firm UAVTEK.
It comes after the head of the UK’s armed forces, General Sir Nick Carter, suggested that as many as 30,000 autonomous or remote-controlled machines could be fighting alongside humans by the 2030s as the armed forces modernise.
There were more than 300 "mini drones" in service in the UK armed forces between 2013 and 2016 but cutbacks saw their numbers reduced by more than a third in 2017. Troops in Afghanistan described the kit as a "lifesaver" but campaign groups such as Drone Wars argue that the greater use of UAVs leads to a “PlayStation mentality” and lowers the threshold for using lethal force.
Source: Independent
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