Debates about the use of drone in military operations have been around for a while now. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem we might hit a reasonable conclusion soon. On the contrary, our technology is just getting more and more dangerous.

Take Boeing's contribution. Earlier this year, as Business Insider reported, the US Trademarks and Patents Office greenlit a patent application for a "Rapid Deployment Air and Water Vehicle." That's basically an aerial drone that can shed it's wings and dive under water. As the patent explains, the drone is built to fly annd, when it touches down on the water's surface, it sheds parts of its body like the wings, tail and stabilizers, and dives underwater. the drone is powered by an unspecified engine, and has built-in ballast tanks to regulate its diving depth. If something like this ends up being built, you'll likely see it in action during a reconnaissance mission for plane crashes in the open sea. Beoing says this kind of drone can be deployed in airspace by a "carrier" aircraft, navigate to the desired location via remote control, and then be made to dive down under the depths. Once the drone has completed its observation or "delivered its payload", itcan be made to resurface and then communicate with other drones in the area or a command centre. Think of how much easier it would make search and rescue like with MH370. However, there's also the darker aspect to consider. Seeing as Boeing has a steady defence contract with America, it's pretty safe to say this kind of hardware, if built, will find its way into the US Navy. Now imagine convertible drones being used in areas with freqeunt pirate activity. Might we one day see these kinds of vehicles delivering explosive payloads? Or perhaps on counterterrorism missions protecting the coast. The real question is, just because you invent gunpowder, should you mass produce it?