Canada is defending the use of military drones as a reasonable tactic, saying technological advances have reduced civilian casualties.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay told an Asian security summit that the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities shown by drones during missions in Libya and Afghanistan only enforce the effectiveness of unmanned systems.

MacKay added that the eyes-on-systems equipped on drones can literally read a license plate from outer space.

Unmanned drones were a major part of many recent coalition missions in the Middle East.

Some of these drones, particularly American, have also been used to carry out physical attacks on militants and militant-leaders in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

While MacKay commended their usage for intelligence purposes, it was not clear where he stood on the issue of using unmanned drones for attacks.