Predators for peace

Within just a few years, first waves of medical supply drones might be launched to mitigate disasters, even including epidemics. Temperature-sensitive drugs could be flown by drones equipped with refrigeration, bypassing the harsh tropical conditions that can spoil them if transported by ground. In the event of a disease outbreak, emergency vaccines could be flown directly from public health authorities or international aid groups. A ready reserve of medical supply drones could even be kept in orbit over vulnerable areas, to be instantly dispatched to any area when needed.

Once overhead, these emergency drones could send back real-time intelligence to disaster coordinators. In calmer times, surveillance drones could be flown over villages on a circuit to keep tabs on the need for water or shelter. They might even be used to detect social unrest by sighting crowds or evidence of violence, such as fires or explosions.

As technology drives down cost and expands capabilities, point-to-point drone operations run by NGOs can also be a force for democratization. Imagine: Instead of traditional government-to-government models of aid delivery, ridden with inefficiencies and corruption, drones could provide the basis for group-to-group networks of aid delivery, thus building communities rather than bolstering bad rulers.

What's more, bypassing graft and theft-ridden supply chains has the potential to boost the efficiency of the operations of NGOs and donor governments -- including saving money currently being spent on security. More resources can actually go to those in need.

It's understandable that drones have not yet been tested for use in delivering aid. Drone proliferation will be a game-changer, which is precisely why regimes in developing zones may fear their use. Proliferation of aid drones will complicate border and airspace control, and raise suspicions that flights are being used for intelligence gathering. Customs officials could be forced to cover more territory, spreading out their ranks. Corrupt officials seeking new sources of graft might seek to control drone ports and infiltrate the networks operating them.

And there are risks. Because any new channel that competes with a regime's supply chains weakens its authority, countermeasures could follow. In conflict situations, regimes wanting to block supplies sent to rival groups could target supply drones for attack. Regimes may even be motivated to acquire their own drones to patrol their skies and intercept inbound craft.

While some authorities may feel threatened, however, other officials may be drawn to the promise of donors' drones alleviating burdens they otherwise might have to bear on their own. Supplies that reliably reach those in need with fewer losses and risks might reward officials who facilitate their arrival.

Higher success rates, in turn, would prompt donors to step up their efforts. With their powerful sensors, aid drones could validate deliveries, help promote transparency, and build trust. A new means of softening the impacts of disaster and disease could even help to stabilize good governments.

Though aid drones aren't yet a reality, there might be a ready source in the making. With U.S. combat having ended in Iraq and winding down in Afghanistan, the U.S. military faces a surplus of unused drones. An entire squadron of attack drones, already built and paid for, currently idles in storage while the military ponders what to do with them.

And while it's unlikely that those military drones (especially if laden with classified equipment) will be converted to civilian use, manufacturers can produce simpler civilian versions for use in humanitarian missions. One firm, AeroVironment, is already marketing a trunk-sized dronepurpose-built for civilian first-response missions.

Re-directing these flying robots towards peaceful purposes could change the way we see and develop high technology. As the capacity and range of the machines increase, we might soon witness the first intercontinental drone convoys landing in Africa, perhaps in the form of a fleet aimed at averting mass starvation in a conflict zone. Just as the 1949 Berlin airlift showed, for the first time, the power of mass cargo flights to save lives, future "drone-lifts" could become potent weapons in the fight against hunger and disease.