Final Blog - The History of Drones

            The beginning of the use of drones was around the first world war. The first drones were catapult launched or remote operated and starting in 1935, the British used them for target practice (IWM Staff, 2018). During World War I, a secret US program run in Long Island, New York had looked at the use of aircraft drones as kamikaze drones, with TNT strapped to them and set to explode upon impact. “The planes were ‘automatically guided with a high degree of precision’ and after a predetermined distance were supposed to suddenly turn and fly vertically downward, carrying enough TNT to ‘blow a small town inside out’” (Sifton, 2012). This aircraft was called the ‘Kettering Bug’ and used gyroscopic controls (Vyas, 2018). Unfortunately, the Kettering Bug wasn’t tested until the war ended in 1918 and at that point, there would be no continued development because there was no longer a war to use it for.

Starting in World War II, “the Navy launched a new program, called Operation Anvil, to target deep German bunkers using refitted B-24 bombers filled to double capacity with explosives and guided by remote control devices to crash at selected targets in Germany and Nazi-controlled France” (A Brief History, 2012). Due to the limited technology at the time regarding remote control via radio signal, “actual pilots were used for takeoff: they were supposed to guide the plane to a cruising altitude and then parachute to safety in England, after which a “mothership” would guide the plane to its target” (A Brief History, 2012). However, the program was very limited and unsuccessful for the most part, with these drones very often exploding prematurely and missing their intended targets completely. John F. Kennedy’s older brother was a pilot of one of these aircraft, but the one he flew exploded prematurely causing his early death. This is particularly important because JFK had been elected president and served from 1961-1963, during the Vietnam War, where a new effort was made to increase the usage of drone aircraft for purposes of the war effort. The death of his older brother in a prior drone program may have had something to do with this, but it’s just a guess. However, up until this point of the Vietnam War, the development of drone technology stagnated due to little need for their potential uses and lack of support for the program (Sifton, 2012).

During the Vietnam War, drones were used for reconnaissance purposes and soon thereafter started to be used for other purposes, such as “acting as decoys in combat, launching missiles against fixed targets and dropping leaflets for psychological operations” (IWM Staff, 2018). While it was only the United States doing this in the Vietnam War, the British were also developing drones at this time. After the war, countries outside of the UK and USA began testing the use of drones. Since the Vietnam War and into the 21^st century, drones have evolved greatly. They have been engineered with improved endurance and a higher altitude capability (IWM Staff, 2018).

Starting in 2000, the CIA began utilizing unarmed reconnaissance drones in the Middle East; primarily Afghanistan. After September 11, 2001, they started arming these drones while flying over the country. The first targeted strike by one of these drones, other than for military purposes, was in February, 2002. The CIA had spotted multiple targets in Afghanistan, with a high probability of one of the targets being Osama Bin Laden, and utilized a Hellfire missile on the targets (Vyas, 2018). This first drone truly used in combat and developed heavily by the United States for its introduction in 2000 is the renowned Predator drone. Since this first strike by the CIA, drones are now being utilized everywhere. They are an important part of the United States’ arsenal and military power and a protector of national security and our interests abroad. Today the CIA and military coordinate their use of drones, with the CIA being more trigger happy and having less bureaucracy to deal with due to the nature of their operations. 

             Militarily we use drones for surveillance, targeted strikes, and to support our troops on the battlefield. Because of how far drone technology has come, courtesy of the military, there is even a use for drones in the civilian and commercial sector in the 21^st century. There’s no doubt drones will continue to become more advanced in the future. Currently they can be controlled via satellite, which is not something any of us would’ve ever thought of several decades ago. With this advancement in technology and current widespread use of drones, it brings more complexity to the situation with foreign nations now having or developing the capability to disable of jam our drones in the sky so they can not be utilized. It’s going to continue to be a race between nations as to who can have the best drone technology and countermeasures to that technology, just like it has been for hundreds of years in combat.

References

IWM Staff. (2018, January 30). A Brief History of Drones. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-brief-history-of-drones

Sifton, J. (2012, February 7). A Brief History of Drones. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.thenation.com/article/brief-history-drones/

Vyas, K. (2018, March 12). A Brief History of Drones: The Remote Controlled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://interestingengineering.com/a-brief-history-of-drones-the-remote-controlled-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uavs