Armed drones in Afghanistan flown from UK for first time The use of drones is controversial as protesters say drone pilots are unable to make the same level of judgements about situations as those in manned aircraft on the front line and claim the use of drones have increased civilian casualties. Organisers of the protest march and rally at RAF Waddington have are calling on the Government to abandon the use of drones. Rafeef Ziadah, senior campaigns officer at War on Want, said: "Drones, controlled far away from conflict zones, ease politicians' decisions to launch military strikes and order extrajudicial assassinations, without democratic oversight or accountability to the public. Now is the time to ban killer drones - before it is too late. Chris Nineham, vice-chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, claimed drones were being used to continue the "deeply unpopular War on Terror" with no public scrutiny. Calling for armed drones to be banned, Mr Nineham said: "They're using them to fight wars behind our backs." Until now, the drones have been operated by RAF pilots based in the USA Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. They have flown some 45,000 hours in Afghanistan in the last six years and fired around 350 weapons. In 2011, four Afghan civilians died when a missile from a Reaper drone killed two insurgents and blew up the trucks they were travelling in. Last year the MoD announced that the UK was doubling the number of armed RAF drones in Afghanistan to 10 with the five new aircraft to be operated remotely from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. The new aircraft, known as 13 Squadron, which were officially "stood up" in October, started flying missions over Afghanistan this week. The drones are primarily used to gather intelligence on enemy activity on the ground, but they also carry 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles for precision strikes on insurgents. The Waddington-based squadron numbers around 100 personnel who are specifically trained to fly the aircraft. The drones take off and land under the guidance of pilots on the ground in Afghanistan but the pilots in Lincolnshire take over once they've reached a suitable height. They normally fly at between 15,000 to 20,000 feet. The Ministry of Defence has defended its use of drones in Afghanistan, which it says have saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians. An MoD spokesman said: "UK Reaper aircraft are piloted by highly trained professional military pilots who adhere strictly to the same laws of armed conflict and are bound by the same clearly defined rules of engagement which apply to traditionally manned RAF aircraft."