US TROOPS who launch drone strikes and direct cyber attacks may be recognised with a new medal, the first combat-related award to be created in the US since the Bronze Star in 1944.

For the first time, the Pentagon was creating a medal that can be awarded to soldiers who have a direct impact on combat but from afar, the US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, said on Wednesday.

The Pentagon will award a new medal for drone pilots. Credit:AP

''I've seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought,'' Mr Panetta said. ''And they've given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle, even from afar.''

The work they do ''does contribute to the success of combat operations, particularly when they remove the enemy from the field of battle, even if those actions are physically removed from the fight'', he said.