Self-preservation by means of drones involves putting vulnerable bodies out of reach. This could be seen as the fulfillment of the ancient desire that inspires the whole history of ballistic weapons: to increase one's reach so as to hit the enemy from a distance before the opponent can launch its own attack. But with drones, the weapon's range (the distance between the weapon and its target) has been increased by the range of the remote control (the distance separating the operator from the weapon). Thousands of miles can now be interposed between the trigger on which one's finger rests and the cannon from which the cannonball will fly.

Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, loc. 110