It took a few years, but the US Navy’s beefier Fire Scout helicopter drone is finally ready for action… more or less. The military branch has declared that Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8C has reached “initial operational capability,” or the minimum state it needs to enter service.
Source: US Navy’s next-gen helicopter drone is ready for service
The Product Prospectus Take:
The value of drone removing the risk to the lives and health our service men and women are undeniable and worth the money we spend on developing these tools. That being said we should closely observe the effect of the gap we introduce between the person pulling the trigger and their target they effect. Action and their consequences have always had a huge impact on our morality, how we interact with others, our perception of our place in this world and how we engage with each other.
A good case study on a similar effect is how the internet & social media provided a similar gap between people involved in a conversation. Because the tools provide the anonymity its provided a huge gap between the persons expressing the words to the person who is impacted by them. We see a rise in bullying, shaming, and other morally challenged interactions because there is no link between the words that are said to the effect it has on a person. A person you normally would feel bad seeing someone’s facial expression or body language indicating how hurt they were by the word they just uttered who not think twice doing the same by posting it on the internet.
Now that was what happened with words and the power they provide the individual. So how then can we imagine that similar dehumanizing effect will not be there when you provide someone something as powerful as a weapon and increase the gap to experiencing the consequences of a trigger that is pulled.