Present-day drones combine remote control and autonomous piloting.

Evidence

A drone can be controlled either from a distance by human operators (remote control) or autonomously by robotic means (automatic piloting). In practice, present-day drones combine those two modes of control. Armies do not yet have at their disposal operational autonomous lethal robots, although as we shall see, there are already advanced plans for those. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 106

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the emerging autonomous-weapons literature (lethal autonomous weapons systems) — the book flags advanced plans that later chapters presumably develop. — connects to: Remote-controlled machines were proposed as a third option beyond protected men or autonomous machines; A drone is a reusable platform, unlike a one-shot missile — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 147

Related

• Remote-controlled machines were proposed as a third option beyond protected men or autonomous machines (similarity 0.90)
• A drone is a reusable platform, unlike a one-shot missile (similarity 0.87)
• Drones add the remote control’s range to the weapon’s range. (similarity 0.86)
• The Pentagon aims for drones to exert lethal force without human control (similarity 0.86)
• Drones evolved from surveillance eyes into lethal hunter-killer weapons. (similarity 0.85)
• Drones multiplied ballistic reach by adding remote-control distance to weapon range (similarity 0.85)
• Drone warfare pits unburdened machines against bodies bound by physical limits. (similarity 0.84)
• Drones transformed from surveillance eyes into weapons almost by chance. (similarity 0.83)
• Drones differ from cruise missiles by being reusable rather than single-use projectiles. (similarity 0.83)
• Drones centralize kill authority upward into hierarchy rather than handing control to machines (similarity 0.83)
• Drone missiles have larger lethal radii than conventional infantry weapons (similarity 0.82)
• Zworykin discovered the drone formula by coupling television with remote-controlled flight (similarity 0.82)
• Autonomous armed robots can select and destroy targets without human control (similarity 0.82)
• Drones resolve the guerrilla problem by depriving insurgents of any target to attack. (similarity 0.81)
• Armed drones make killing a priori one-directional, converting combat into slaughter. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• A drone is a reusable platform, unlike a one-shot missile #expands (0.40) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 147