WASHINGTON — If drone pilots and computer experts had any doubts that they truly are central to the new way of combat, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta used his valedictory Pentagon news conference on Wednesday to make it clear: he established a new medal just for them.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal will provide “recognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combat entails,” Mr. Panetta said.

“I’ve seen firsthand how modern tools like remotely piloted platforms and cybersystems have changed the way wars are fought,” Mr. Panetta said, citing his tenure as director of the C.I.A. and his tour at the Pentagon. “And they’ve given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle even from afar.”

Mr. Panetta said the new medal would be reserved for those who greatly assisted the war effort by piloting Predator or Reaper drones from a remote trailer, often back in the United States, or by an assignment to devise computer defenses or create poisonous digital code to attack an adversary’s network.