Study: Drones Kill 10 Times More Civilians Than Manned Aircraft

While the Defense Department claims that military drone strikes are as precise as manned missions, a new study suggests that isn’t true. Larry Lewis, a research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, and Sarah Holewinsk of the Center for Civilians in Conflict, measured the differences in civilian casualties between manned air missions and drones. They found that drones had killed 10 times more civilians than manned missions. That puts the lie to Prsident Obama’s May statement that “conventional airpower or missiles are far less precise than drones, and likely to cause more civilian casualties and local outrage.”

“These findings show us that it’s not about the technology, it’s about how the technology is used,” explained Holewinski.