無人機パイロットの地理感覚 |
さて、イギリスのシンクタンクのブリーフィングペーパーで良いのがありましたので、そこから重要部分だけ貼り付け。
私は以前からこの無人機(UAV)のパイロットの「地理感覚」という心理面に非常に興味があったのですが、この資料の中でもよさげな記述がありました。
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Strategic Comments – Volume 15, Issue 4 – May 2009
The drones of war
Pakistan strikes highlight the increasing use of remotely piloted aircraft
(中略)
Pakistan is the most high-profile and divisive example of the increasing use of UAVs in recent conflict situations. However, more than 50 nations now use drones for reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering and targetting. The machines range from the strategic-reconnaissance Global Hawk, which can fly non-stop from California to Australia, to mini surveillance robots that look like props from a James Bond film.
The US is by far the biggest UAV user, with 18 different missions ranked in order of priority for the various classes of drone in the American inventory. Among these, the main UAV in operation is the Predator/Reaper family of aircraft flown across southwest Asia by military crews at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.
The US Air Force has a fleet of 138 of these airframes, of which 118 are Predators and 20 Reapers. In March 2009, the IISS was invited to visit Creech for a behind-the-scenes look.
(中略)
Reaper crews are becoming very familiar with way Afghans go about their daily business. Because they do not have to rotate in and out of theatre every few months, UCAV crews on three-year tours in Nevada are well placed to tell when something unusual is happening in a village or along a road that they have been monitoring for months.
Firing weapons from a Reaper involves the same process as for conventional aircraft. Under standard NATO clearance to fire, ‘cleared hot’ means that the ground commander understands the effects of the weapon to be fired and has the right target coordinates and the full picture on any nearby friendly forces.
Reaper aircrew, supported by intelligence analysts sitting behind them, work with both JTAC and the ground commander to ensure that they have positive identification of the target site. If they are not satisfied, the Reaper crew won’t drop – they usually have time to go round again. Although American and British personnel are tasked within the coalition, they work to national rules of engagement.
(中略)
Both 42AS and 39 Squadron are 8,000 miles from the theatre of operations, and not in any physical danger. For this reason, UCAV flying has been likened to ‘commuting to combat from northwest Las Vegas’. Despite this, the crews consider themselves completely involved. Each four-aircraft CAP system requires 30 personnel to support it around the clock, and operators say they do feel as though they are on the front line. As one weapons-system operator put it: ’In the way we deploy weapons, you actually see the delivery of the bomb to the bitter end ... so we are definitely emotionally involved.’ UCAV operations are dependent on skilled tri-service personnel, some with on-the-ground operational experience, who try to ensure that any strike is accurate, proportionate and avoids civilian casualties.
(中略)
For the foreseeable future, cruise missiles and piloted aircraft will continue to execute some missions more effectively than UAVs. This indicates that the best military air option will be a mix of all three
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この上の記事で興味深いのは、このような無人機を操作している人間も、「その場にいて作戦に参加している」という風に感じていることですね。
たしかに爆弾を最終的に落とすかどうかというのは人間の判断が含まれてくるわけですから、なんでも「自動的に」というわけにはいきません。
ネバダにいる人がアフガニスタンの地理に異様に詳しくなるというのはたしかに「地理」が縮まったということになりそうですが、それでもこれは「戦略において地理が不必要なものになった」とか「その重要性が著しく減った」ということにはなりません。
こういう議論は「インフォパワー」系の信奉者に多いわけですが、彼らに対する強力な反論としてよく出されるのは、そのようなパワーも、実際の地理環境で戦略的影響(この場合だったらアフガニスタンやパキスタンのテロリストたち)を与えなければなんの意味もない、ということです。
つまり、無人機でも情報技術でも、実は実際の地理と戦略の「つなぎ役」でしかないわけです。
人間は地理環境に生きており、どんなに情報が発達しても、われわれは地理の影響を受けずにはいられません。
そして、戦争や紛争を行うのは地理にしばられている人間同士であるために、戦略でも情報技術が発達すれば地理の重要度がなくなるというのも間違いで、多少その重要度は減少するのかも知れませんが、極端にいえば、全体的な戦略の要素は「情報」や「無人機」という面が増えただけ。
こうなるとむしろ戦略が行われる環境がさらに重層的になる、と考えるほうが正しいのかもしれません。