The Torch: Armed UAVs in CF's future not hot, scary news

This item has already produce hot, scary headlines. There was this National Post headline Dec. 11, 2008:

Canadian military on the hunt for killer drones

And this was in the Ottawa Citizen Sept. 17, 2008:

DND seeks armed drones by 2012
Craft could be used for 'domestic' operations[more here]

Now the media are at it again--note that the context from last year is buried deep in this CP story. The headline is not scary but the story works hard to imply the acquisition might be:

Canada to acquire attack drones: air chief

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The next generation of unmanned aircraft in the Canadian military will be armed, but will be used selectively and within the boundaries of international law, says the head of the country's air force.

"Armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with air to ground weapons are a valuable capability and it's a good option to have, and it is a good option for Canadians to have," said Lt.-Gen. Angus Watt, fresh from a brief visit to this war-battered region.

Watt was at Kandahar Airfield to officially declare Canada's new air wing in southern Afghanistan fully operational and ready for whatever mission NATO throws at it.

The U.S. already operates armed drones in Afghanistan - MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper pilotless planes - for surveillance and to attack insurgent positions. Some of the Hellfire missile strikes have killed not only Taliban and Al-Qaida leaders, but innocent civilians as well.

Attacking targets remotely is something Canadians will have to weigh carefully, Watt said.

"What we have to be very mindful of is that Canada very much respects the law of armed conflict and you have to satisfy a number of conditions before you drop a weapon on anything," he said.

"And in the case of the UAV, those conditions will be very difficult to satisfy, but it will also be a very useful option to have."

The idea of pilotless planes attacking targets by remote control has made Watt uncomfortable in the past.

In an Oct. 5, 2007 interview with The Canadian Press, he poured water on the idea of armed UAVs, saying, "We in Canada like to have a man in the loop dropping weapons and shooting weapons at people."

Watt's latest comments came on Tuesday, but for security reasons the interview couldn't be made public until he had left the region.

He is the first senior military officially to speak publicly about the plan, although the federal government signalled to the defence industry last year that it intended to eventually buy armed drones [emphasis added]...