Switchblade

ARMIES the world over seek weapons that maximise enemy losses while minimising their soldiers’ exposure. Now there is a new kid on the block, Switchblade, which is a drone issued to the soldiers deployed in Afghanistan by the US army.

It can be carried in a backpack and used on the battlefield instead of calling for an air-strike. The Switchblade is a lightweight, unmanned drone which the soldiers will be able to launch in the battlefield and use to kill enemy snipers and other targets. In the war in Afghanistan, the increasing use of drones of all kinds under the Obama administration has proved effective in reducing American casualties, although concerns remain about the collateral damage that drone attacks often entail.

While the Switchblade is essentially a small drone with a relatively small explosive charge as compared with its bigger and more lethal predecessors like Predator and Reaper, it has its own risks. Instead of a senior officer giving the command, the decision will now be taken at the platoon level, or even by individual soldiers on the scene, who would not be able to see beyond their immediate environment.
In any case, the use of drones in war is now fast on its way of becoming an established practice. It is widely seen as inevitable as armies seek more and get more sophisticated gadgets which make it possible to conduct missions in areas that are too dangerous to risk pilots. However, drone attacks have also raised questions about violations of territorial rights of sovereign states, and brought to the fore many ethical issues that arise because of their deployment. Drones are among the many robotic machines that increase the effectiveness of troops and reduce their exposure. They are the flavour of the season, but the allure of the technological marvels that they are should not eclipse the fact that these remain deadly machines and deployment of these has real, often fatal, consequences on human beings who become their targets.