'Eye in the Sky', 'Drone War: Good Kill' and Other Movie Themes
Monitoring VIPs and Facilities from Over 3km Altitude
Expert Pilots Launch Missiles from Base with Button Press to Strike
MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Attack Aircraft
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As the United States reportedly killed Qasem Soleimani, a key figure in the Iranian military and commander of the Quds Force (an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), in an airstrike using an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone), the destructive power of military drones as weapons of war is once again drawing attention. Known as the "assassin of the skies," drone strikes involve targeting a location from the air and firing missiles with the push of a button, much like a game, to hit key figures or facilities. This method has been featured several times in movies, but it is increasingly demonstrating its power in real-world combat situations.
Foreign media outlets such as The New York Times and CNN reported on the morning of the 3rd (local time) that drones were used in the airstrike operation against Commander Soleimani. According to The New York Times, the operation, approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, involved the American MQ-9 Reaper drone. The drone launched an attack after Soleimani and his entourage arrived at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq from Syria and boarded two waiting vehicles, splitting up between them as they departed the airport. Through an operation conducted by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), several missiles fired from the drone struck the vehicles, killing five people including Commander Soleimani.
◆ MQ-9 Reaper, just like in the movies= The process by which the U.S. military uses the MQ-9 Reaper to eliminate targets closely resembles scenes from the 2016 film "Eye in the Sky." This movie centers on military drones. The setting is Nairobi, Kenya, where the U.S., the U.K., and Kenya conduct a joint operation to capture members of the Somali extremist militant group Al-Shabaab, who are hiding there and carrying out terrorist acts.
The joint command of the three countries controls a tiny beetle-shaped micro-drone with a portable terminal, infiltrating the militants' hideout. The beetle drone, designed to minimize noise and vibration, clings to ceiling supports and uses a camera attached to its body to provide real-time footage of militants preparing a bomb attack. Upon confirmation, the joint command immediately changes the mission from capturing the militants to killing them.
Then, an attack drone conducting reconnaissance at 6 km altitude fires missiles and demolishes the building, killing the terrorists. The drone responsible for the airstrike is the MQ-9 Reaper. Developed by the U.S. and flown since 2001, this drone can fly for 28 hours at altitudes up to 15 km, equipped with optical cameras attached to satellites and armed with missiles and bombs aimed at enemy positions. The U.S. began using drones in the war against international Islamic terrorist organizations after the 9/11 attacks and reportedly expanded their use from 2010 onward for purposes such as killing key figures and eliminating targets.
The Public Relations Office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command officially released photos of burning vehicles caused by a U.S. airstrike on a road near Baghdad Airport on the 3rd (local time) through its official Facebook account. (Photo by AFP, Yonhap News)
◆ One shot like a 'shooting game'... no friendly casualties but= The 2016 film "Drone War: Good Kill" also deals with drone airstrikes. It tells the story of monitoring key bases of Islamic terrorist organizations from 3 km above with drone footage, surveilling key figures and weapon depots, and firing missiles to eliminate them when necessary.
The drone is controlled by the U.S. drone strategy team based in Nevada. They aim at targets and strike enemy positions by watching monitors and pressing buttons without going to the battlefield. There are no friendly casualties, and the drone strategy team members commute to work and enjoy leisure activities. However, both "Eye in the Sky" and this film portray the psychological conflicts of drone operators carrying out missions. Operators struggle with the fact that they strike defenseless enemies with the push of a button, and sometimes innocent civilians such as women and children are harmed in the process.
Despite ethical controversies, drone airstrikes are firmly establishing themselves as a new form of warfare and are expected to be used in many more operations. Andrew Niccol, director of "Drone War: Good Kill," highlights this through a statement by the drone strategy team commander in the film: "Drones don’t go anywhere, but they fly everywhere. They can eliminate targets and neutralize threats. We get a lot of criticism from the public. There are sarcastic remarks like ‘You’re not soldiers, you’re playing video game wars.’ Yes, war is now a first-person shooter game. But the trigger pulled here is real. When you pull the trigger, someone disappears from the world."
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