Controversies do little to temper U.S. employment of armed aerial drones.

• Author: Beidel, Eric
• Position: Unmanned Systems

Much has been made about the United States' use of drones to target alleged terrorists within and beyond the Afghanistan warzone. The government has complained of information leaks about the secret program, critics have said the strikes kill more civilians than militants and analysts have surmised what the escalation of lethal drone attacks means for the future of warfare.

Despite the swirling controversies, it appears weaponized drones are here to stay.

"I think this is the future," said Clinton Watts, a senior fellow at The George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute.

Critics have described the so-called "drone war" as a symptom of the failure of U.S. strategy on the ground in Afghanistan and caution that the tactic should not he elevated to an overarching strategy. But strikes already have been reported in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. And with the war in Iraq over and the one in Afghanistan winding down, the fight against terrorists will become more decentralized, leaving experts to ponder where the United States will next employ its armed drones.

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Watts has been a champion of using drone strikes in tandem with special operations to quell terrorist threats. He co-authored a brief last summer calling for an immediate ramp-up of special operations forces and drone strikes in Yemen to cripple al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group's foreign operations unit led by American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki posed the greatest threat, stated the June 2011 brief.

Three months later, Awlaki was killed by a U.S. drone attack.

"It's the most effective tool we have in a counterterrorism context," Watts told National Defense.

The unmanned aerial vehicle has been revolutionary for the U.S. military, first for its surveillance attributes and more recently for its ability to strike high-value targets without putting troops in danger. Armed drones have, along with capture-kill special operations, become the preferred method for eliminating militants.

The fascination with remote controlled systems around the world is sending shockwaves throughout industry as the rest of the world plays catch-up with the United States. A study released in April by the Teal Group projects worldwide spending on drones to double over the next 10 years.

"UAVs have proved their value in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and will continue to he a high priority for militaries in the United States and worldwide," said Philip Finnegan...