Examining innovations and technological advances directly related to the US Military

Examining innovations and technological advances directly related to the U.S. military

The US military has been coming up with great innovations and technological advances since the civil war era. The same spirit has been upheld and used as a driving force for providing the military with state of art weaponry and defense systems. The need for weaponry and defense systems has been brought about by sustained evolution of the enemy, real or potential whether they are militant groups or rogue countries. This paper is an outline that will look at the various advancements made by the US military over the time. Some of the innovations have become commercialized and are in use today while others have already become obsolete. To properly dissect the topic, I will look at various periods as outlined below. 

Civil war era innovations  

• Telegraph
• Aerial reconnaissance  
• Ambulance 
• Long range weapons
• The Gatlin Gun (ancestor of the machine gun)
• Naval mines and torpedoes
• Armor-cladded naval ships 
• The rail road

Source history.com (2016) & pbs.org (2014)

First World War innovations

• Teabags
• Sanitary towels
• Air traffic control (airplane radio)
• Remote drones, 

Second World War innovations

• Radar
• Nuclear technology and weapons
• Jet engine
• Night vision
• Duct tape
• Jeep
• Computers
• Microwaves 
• Walkie talkies 

Cold War innovations

• Digital photography
• Internet 
• Satellite navigation (GPS)

Article Review

Finkbeiner, A. (2016). Military technology: Death by remote control. Nature, 534(7609), 618-619.

From my outline above, it is clear that the drone technology came to the horizon during the World War I. the same technology has been perfected and has only been operational in the battle field in the 21^st century. It is the military’s latest child. The article by Finkbeiner (2016), is an analysis of the technology and the effects the same has to the hunter and the hunted. To the hunter, the machine is safe to use as no war casualties or prisoners will ever be witnessed. To the hunted, the machine is lethal as it is precise. The US military is replacing its fighter jets with drones since they are not only safe but cheap to acquire and operate. 

From the article, it is clear that the U.S military has operationalized this technology in the battle field in a number of countries, often with desirable results to the generals. It is revealed that as much as half of the U.S fighter pilots are being trained o drone operations. This underlines the determination of the military to change tact from traditional fighter jets to the modern drones. The military argues in favor of the drones based on the machines precision. Its hellfire missiles are laser guided and often strike with pin point accuracy. This does not come without disadvantages. Civilians in war zones are always terrified by drones since they strike without notice and often with unprecedented force. Drone pilots are not as safe as they are presumed to be at least not psychologically. They are often traumatized as reported by the article which quoted defense sponsored studies. 

How often does the drone warfare follow the rules? Do we have the rules to begin with? Finkbeiner (2016) is clear that the standard military rules do not apply. The current battle field is characterized by enemies who hide behind civilians often with no uniform. When a targeted drone strike is executed and the target gets acquired, the lines between legal targeted execution and illegal assassination become blurred. This question continue to linger in the minds of military leaders in the more than 76 nations that use drones as a military weapon. 

References

Finkbeiner, A. (2016). Military technology: Death by remote control. Nature, 534(7609), 618-619.

history.com. (2016). Civil War Technology. Retrieved from History.com website: http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technologypbs.org. (2014). Civil War Innovations. Retrieved from A PBS news website: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/civil-war-innovations