“Irresponsible”. Defence wants armed drones; the Vivaldi government refuses

The war in Ukraine shows that the use of drones on the international playing field is a new reality. Despite advice from the Defence Staff, a majority in the House voted down Peter Buysrogge’s proposal on arming the Belgian army’s new drones. “Defence is referring to the undeniable advantages of conducting military operations effectively and efficiently. They support our proposal and are using every argument they can to make the arming of drones possible. It is therefore incomprehensible that the majority parties voted down this proposal,” says MP Peter Buysrogge.

In 2019, it was decided to acquire SkyGuardian drones. The unmanned aircraft can fly very long and fairly high in the air at a limited cost. Former Defence Minister Vandeput (N-VA) took the option of being able to arm them at the time. The Defence Staff’s technical advice emphasises once again that these aircraft are designed for this purpose.

No “killer drones”

However, the Vivaldi government is closing the door for ethical reasons. Those on the left are confusing the deployment of armed drones with the use of so-called killer drones that select and attack their targets without human interference. “The SkyGuardian is technically incapable of automatic or autonomous actions to use arms. This comparison is thus not valid. In fact, dropping the same type of ammunition will be much closer to the target compared to a fighter plane. This keeps the risk of collateral damage at a minimum,” Peter Buysrogge continues.

More ethical and more efficient

According to the Ministry of Defence, arming the drones is not only technically and legally possible, but also desirable as regards military tactics and perhaps even ethically preferable, since it involves precision munitions like those of an F-16. Moreover, the use of an armed SkyGuardian is even more efficient for some missions than the combination with an armed fighter bomber.

The army must not miss the train

The war in Ukraine shows that we have as yet only seen the tip of the iceberg. Drones serve as a good addition to the current resources in a very wide range of missions, or even a game changer. “We therefore do not label drones as some kind of miracle weapon, but we should not underestimate their cost-effectiveness and threat. In modern theatres of war, their deployability is of great importance. Our allies and, unfortunately, also our adversaries use the full potential of this equipment. We cannot have our army miss this train.”

Irresponsible

“Innocent civilians are today being murdered in Europe with drones delivered by the Iranian regime. It is irresponsible for the majority to take this decision now, quite explicitly against the advice of the Defence Staff,” says Peter Buysrogge. He is calling on the ruling parties to reconsider his proposal without delay. “Given the international context, now is the time to transcend naivety.”