Law professor discusses Ind.-made war drones

Bloomington residents gathered Wednesday for a talk concerning “robotic warfare,” a serious concern for certain groups.

The actions of the U.S. military in the Middle East have raised concerns with groups such as the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition. Some have started to look at practices such as “robotic warfare.”

This type of warfare uses drones to launch missiles at targeted areas.

Through countless Freedom of Information Act requests, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis School of Law professor Fran Quigley said he has gleaned enough information to create a portrait of Indiana as a backdrop for research, development and manufacture of robotic warfare weaponry. 

“It’s hard to get straight answers back,” Quigley said in his speech. “Robotic Warfare in the Heartland.” 

Quigley said his requests often turned up blank or sent him to a worthless destination. Finally, he discovered several connections to unmanned aerial vehicles production in the state.

Quigley presented these discoveries to an audience of more than 50 at the Monroe County Public Library.

Quigley’s main three points were that drone warfare is illegal, self-defeating and un-American.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, which is approximately 35 miles from Bloomington, has received and issued millions of dollars in contracts for drone development, Quigley said.

Terre Haute-based Indiana Air National Guard’s 181st Intelligence Wing analyzes data collected by drones flying over Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Indianapolis plant of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars manufactures the engine for the drone Global Hawk.

BPAC member Greg Nobleknott, who also attended the “Silent Screams” film screening Feb. 15 at the library, said he was surprised to learn that luxury car manufacturer Rolls-Royce was involved in drone production.

“They need to stop the demand for it,” Nobleknott said. “If you just stop one company, another will come and fill its place.” 

In addition, West Lafayette-based Lite Machines Inc. has developed a mini-drone called the Voyeur for the U.S. Navy. It is connected with Purdue University.

Quigley said further record requests revealed a $500,000 contract between Purdue and the U.S. Air Force Academy to help with work in the Purdue Robot Vision Lab.

“The average Hoosier is really unaware how much is being manufactured for drones in Indiana,” BPAC event organizer Timothy Baer said.

Many of the attendees already had some knowledge of the drones’ presence in the Middle East, but many were not aware of the legal ramifications of such acts.

“I’d prefer it not to be going on anywhere,” Unionville resident Paul Smith said. “I’m certainly opposed to it.”

The United States has been sending drones to launch missiles targeted for rural areas in Pakistan, a country that the United States is not at war with, Quigley said.

“I can’t help but think this will inflame the whole area, and we’re not even at war with them,” Bloomington resident Linda Windforest said.  

Quigley said these acts of robotic warfare are in direct violation of former President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 Executive Order 12333, which banned the U.S. government from engaging in assassination.

“I think it’s an important issue whether you’re Republican, Democrat or Independent,” Nobleknott said. “People shouldn’t just willingly violate the law. It sets a bad precedent.”