Britain invests huge sum in developing killer drones: SGR

Britain has been investing millions of pounds in developing unethical assassination drones to be deployed against oppressed people around the world, according to media reports.

The UK government’s huge investment in developing an illegal and unethical technology is considered to be misuse of science and technology.

Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), a non-governmental organization, had previously questioned the ethics behinds developing such weaponry.

The body has condemned those scientists who are providing rich countries including Britain with the technology to develop killer drones, which are to be deployed in some of the world’s most impoverished regions.

Britain is said to be developing its own drones through alliances between the Ministry of Defence (MoD), British arms producer BAE Systems, and the British universities.

The country’s most significant armed drones under development are called Taranis and Manti, which are said to have specifications even more advanced than the most heavily armed US drones.

The remote controlled stealth combat aircraft Taranis, which has been designed by BAE Systems, enjoys the capability to attack targets across continents, automatically dodge missiles and identify targets independently. It also enjoys the capability to refuel in mid-air and carry weapons including laser guided bombs and missiles, British media reported.

The aircraft has cost £125 million to build and is to be flown for the first time in a series of tests in Australia in the spring, the reports said.

Mantis, on the other hand, is powered by two Rolls-Royce turbo-prop engines and is capable of autonomous operations including combat with other aircraft.

It should be noted that the United Nations has stressed the illegality of using drones in armed conflicts.

“Outside the context of armed conflict the use of drones for targeted killings is almost never likely to be legal”, according to UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, Phillip Alston.

“The drone killing of anyone other than the intended victim would be an arbitrary deprivation of life under human rights law and could result in state responsibility and individual criminal liability,” he said in his 2010 report.

The deployment of assassination drones by the US and its allies have resulted in the death of thousands of innocent civilians, including many women and children, across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the SGR has repeatedly asked for further details about Britain’s strikes, including location and date; the circumstances leading to the strikes; casualty figures, etc. but all requests have been refused by the MoD so far.