Sydney, Feb 14 : US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has announced the Pentagon would create new medals to recognize the battlefield contributions of American soldiers, who launch the drone strikes and direct the cyber attacks that can kill or disable an enemy, without even setting foot in the combat zone The new medal will be the first combat-related award to be created in the US since the Bronze Star in 1944, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Panetta said he has seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought and they''ve given their men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle, from afar." Panetta added the work they do does contribute to the success of combat operations, particularly when they remove the enemy from the field of battle, even if those actions are physically removed from the fight.

The new blue, red and white-ribboned Distinguished Warfare Medal will be awarded to individuals for `extraordinary achievement' related to a military operation that occurred after September 11, 2001, the paper reported.

However, unlike other combat medals, this does not require that the recipient risks his or her life to get it. Officials said the new medal would be the first combat-related award to be created in the US since the Bronze Star in 1944, the paper said.

The medal is a brass pendant, nearly two-inches tall, with a laurel wreath that circles a globe. There is an eagle in the centre. The ribbon has blue, red and white stripes, the paper added. (ANI)