The emerging politics of drone warfare – The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2014-06-26T16:15:06+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/3759737 https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Adi Robertson <![CDATA[America’s drone program could lead to longer and more frequent wars, report says]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/26/5845354/americas-drone-program-risks-longer-more-frequent-wars-report-says 2014-06-26T12:15:06-04:00 2014-06-26T12:15:06-04:00

A panel composed of former military officials, legal advisors, and others believes that America's drone strike program could be creating a more unstable, violent world. In a report released today, a group of former military and government officials said that relatively low-risk, increasingly common missile strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) "risks increasing instability and escalating conflicts," as other countries emulate America's strategy of targeting suspected terrorists even outside official war zones. While it said UAVs should be "neither demonized nor glorified," it urged the Obama administration to consider the effect they we …

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]]> Adi Robertson <![CDATA[US releases memo justifying drone strike on American citizen]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/23/5834618/us-releases-memo-justifying-drone-strike-on-american-citizen 2014-06-23T11:52:28-04:00 2014-06-23T11:52:28-04:00

Under orders from a US appeals court, the Obama administration has released a memo justifying the killing of American citizens with a targeted "drone strike." The memo presents a case for killing Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda propagandist who was killed in Yemen in 2011. The strike on al-Awlaki has been widely debated since then, especially after a separate attack inadvertently killed al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman. Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request made by the ACLU and others, it's possible to read both the court's reasoning and the 30-page legal debate on whether he and others could be killed without due process u …

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]]> Josh Lowensohn <![CDATA[The US has deployed a pair of surveillance drones to Japan]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/31/5766356/the-us-has-deployed-a-pair-of-surveillance-drones-to-japan 2014-05-31T02:23:03-04:00 2014-05-31T02:23:03-04:00

A pair of unarmed Global Hawk surveillance drones have been deployed to Japan by the US Air Force, possibly to keep an eye on North Korea and naval operations in China. According to the Associated Press, the drones will use the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan through October, though the US government has not provided any details on the missions that will be carried out.

Same drones used to track hurricanes

The Global Hawk drones are made by aerospace and military contractor Northrop Grumman, and specialize in long-distance, high-altitude unmanned flights. Last year, a Global Hawk flew for more than 34 hours at altitudes of up to 60,000 fee …

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]]> Russell Brandom <![CDATA[Saudi Arabia joins the killer drone arms race]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/25/5652804/saudi-arabia-has-joined-the-global-drone-arms-race 2014-04-25T11:32:37-04:00 2014-04-25T11:32:37-04:00

Last week, Saudi Arabia bought its first drone fleet, according to a dispatch from Tactical Reports. Saudi Crown Prince Salman met with Chinese General Wang Guanzhong to sign a contract for a shipment of Chinese Wing Loong drones, also known as Pterodactyls. The drones that make up the shipment are designed to mimic America's Predator drone, with surveillance capabilities and enough lift to carry two matched air-to-ground missiles.

Drones are available to whoever can pay for them

If the report is true, it means Saudi Arabia may have joined an exclusive club, one of the few nations with armed, unmanned aircraft. It's a group that, to date, in …

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]]> Adi Robertson <![CDATA[New bill would force Obama administration to reveal drone strike casualties]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/2/5574742/new-bill-would-force-obama-administration-to-reveal-drone-strike-casualties 2014-04-02T14:24:02-04:00 2014-04-02T14:24:02-04:00

Two members of Congress have introduced a bill that they hope will force the White House to disclose how many people a year are killed by drones. Today, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) announced the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act, which would mandate an annual report of everyone killed or injured in strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles. It would take effect retroactively, requiring the Obama administration to produce data for the last five years in the interest of tracking trends.

For years, the American targeted killing program has taken place under cover of secrecy, although leaked documents and external …

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]]> Sam Byford <![CDATA[Drones kill civilians using NSA data, Greenwald’s new site ‘The Intercept’ reports]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/10/5396920/drone-strikes-have-killed-innocents-with-nsa-data 2014-02-10T02:13:42-05:00 2014-02-10T02:13:42-05:00
Drone and solider (Credit: Airman 1st Class Jason Epley/USAF)

The NSA's surveillance programs are often used to help carry out drone strikes on targets, according to a new report, and sometimes there are unintended victims. An anonymous former drone operator for Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) told The Intercept - a new publication helmed by Glenn Greenwald, who broke the first of many NSA revelations last year - that the US military and CIA use the NSA's metadata analysis and phone-tracking abilities to identify airstrike targets without confirming their veracity on the ground. The claims were corroborated by documents provided by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Innocent people have …

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]]> Russell Brandom <![CDATA[Covert US targeted killings took 253 lives in 2013, report estimates]]> https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5260910/covert-us-drone-strikes-killed-253-people-in-2013-report-estimates 2013-12-31T12:40:02-05:00 2013-12-31T12:40:02-05:00
Drone MQ-9 Reaper (Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Erik Gudmundson)

The Council on Foreign Relations has released its estimates on the year's covert targeted killings in Yemen and Pakistan, carried out primarily by drones. The numbers are based on reports from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Long War Journal, and The New America Foundation. Each source provides slightly different numbers, but the Long War Journal figures estimate a total of 54 strikes and 253 casualties, of whom 31 were civilians. The Council estimates a total of 3,520 casualties since the drone strike program began in 2004, of whom 457 have been civilians.

The numbers are only estimates, as data on civilian casualties is notori …

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]]> Russell Brandom <![CDATA[Former US drone operator: ‘We always wonder if we killed the right people’]]> https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/30/5257118/former-us-drone-operator-we-always-wonder-if-we-killed-the-right 2013-12-30T12:31:04-05:00 2013-12-30T12:31:04-05:00
Navy X-47B drone takes off from aircraft carrier

As the debate over military drone use rages on, The Guardian has published an unexpected voice on the topic, that of a former US drone operator who openly questions the program. An imagery analyst for the Air Force from 2009 to 2012, Heather Linebaugh says the people making decisions about the drone program are mostly ignorant of the brutality of the casualties inflicted. "I wish I could ask them a few questions," Linebaugh writes. "I'd start with: 'How many women and children have you seen incinerated by a Hellfire missile?'"

Linebaugh says the imaging quality involved is so low that operators often can't distinguish between an assault rif …

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]]> Adi Robertson <![CDATA[US military sees more drones, ‘cyber weapon’ non-proliferation in the future]]> https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/27/5248702/military-drone-roadmap-and-cyber-weapon-non-proliferation-announced 2013-12-27T19:04:02-05:00 2013-12-27T19:04:02-05:00
via farm4.staticflickr.com

The $552 billion 2014 military defense budget signed by President Barack Obama will continue to fund high-tech cyber and unmanned aircraft operations. The budget, which grants central Cyber Command $68 million in operational costs alongside more money for research and individual unit operations, instructs agencies to work towards controlling the proliferation of "cyber weapons." That means stopping the sale or spread of malicious code for "criminal, terrorist, or military activities" while allowing governments and businesses to use it for "legitimate" self-defense.

Banned cyber weapons could still be used in self-defense

In addition, the Pen …

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]]> Adi Robertson <![CDATA[The Drone Survival Guide, a plane-spotting poster for an age of unmanned warfare]]> https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/20/5230012/the-drone-survival-identification-guide 2013-12-20T13:46:36-05:00 2013-12-20T13:46:36-05:00
via puu.sh

Asked about drones, the average person will likely name the Reaper and Predator unmanned attack planes, or the tiny octocopters that Amazon hopes can deliver your packages. But the military category alone is far larger: Israel's small triangular Harpy, China's huge four-winged Soaring Dragon. Artist Ruben Pater's Drone Survival Guide is ostensibly for use in spotting and evading these drones, collecting the above craft and more in a birdwatching poster-style set of silhouettes. Like the "Stealth Wear" line of clothing, it's even theoretically designed to protect the user, printed on a mirrored surface that could be used to try to confuse a d …

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