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Article: U.S. deploys unmanned vehicles: combat robots garner enthusiasm and skepticism.(Government)
- Article from:
- The Futurist
- Article date:
- November 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 World Future Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In August 2009, the U.S. military announced that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed by a missile fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. The CIA hailed the hit as a major success for U.S. attack-drone capabilities. According to the U.S. Air Force, the number of unmanned combat missions has increased 600% in the last six years. The U.S. military hopes to soon use drones for cargo transportation and refueling.
The Air Force and other agencies see enormous potential in the use of remotely controlled robots, perhaps with good reason. Unmanned vehicles could perform a wide variety of missions, according to Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and ...