ABSTRACT
Some people say that the age of robotic warfare began with the attack on a moving car occupied by four terrorists in Yemen in November 2002 (Weed 2002). The attack was carried out by CIA operators with a modified Predator UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), which fired a Hellfire missile at the car, killing all of the occupants. Although the UAV was flown by a human pilot (from a remote location), who also launched the missile, the incidence gave a glimpse of things to come: the possibility of the complete removal of the human soldier from the battlefield and, at least potentially, also the exclusion of humans from the decision-making loop. Finally – the lethal military robot has appeared on the world stage and had killed its first prey. At least so it seemed. In reality, military robots have been around for a long time and have been used in various guises ever since the First World War (Shaker and Wise 1988, 21-39). The difference is only that the technology is now maturing and that intelligent weapons that can operate successfully with little need for human supervision are now technically possible. The armed Predator drones are only an indication of this general trend and also proof that robots have now reached the point where they can be actually militarily useful (Weiner 2005a).
