prizm

Military Drones are Swarming the Skies & Anything Goes When it Comes to International Law

Posted on September 25, 2023 by prizm

by Tara Sonenshine, published on The Conversation, May 19, 2023

Loud explosions rock the evening sky. Streaks of light appear like comets. Missiles rain down. Below, people scramble for cover. The injured are taken on stretchers – the dead, buried.

That is daily life in Ukraine, where pilotless vehicles known as drones litter the sky in an endless video gamelike – but actually very real – war with Russia.

Both Russia and Ukraine are using drones in this war to remotely locate targets and drop bombs, among other purposes. Continue reading “Military Drones are Swarming the Skies & Anything Goes When it Comes to International Law”

‘Hellscape’: DOD Launches Massive Drone Swarm Program to Counter China

Posted on September 25, 2023 by prizm

by Patrick Tucker, published on Defense One, August 28, 2023

China’s most important asset in potential war with the United States is “mass,” says Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks: “More ships. More missiles. More people.”

To counter that advantage, the Defense Department will launch an initiative called Replicator to create cheap drones across the air, sea, and land in the “multiple thousands” within the next two years.

Cheap drones, of the type Ukraine has deployed to great effect against Russia, can be produced close to the battlefield at much lower cost than typical Defense Department weapons. Continue reading “‘Hellscape’: DOD Launches Massive Drone Swarm Program to Counter China”

Register for the Weapons of Death Tribunal

Posted on August 30, 2023August 30, 2023 by prizm

Continue reading “Register for the Weapons of Death Tribunal”

Declassified Documents Shed A Light on U.S. Drone Warfare in Pakistan

Posted on August 22, 2023 by prizm

by Burkely Hermann, published on Unredacted, July 20, 2023

On March 17th of this year, State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked by Pakistani news media about unconfirmed reports of a U.S. drone strike in the Pakistani village of Zangara, within the South Waziristan region. Price, who has since resigned from his position, neither confirmed nor denied the strike, stating “we’ve seen reports that Pakistani security forces conducted counterterrorism operations in South Waziristan on March 15. We refer you to the Government of Pakistan for any additional information.” To date, no new information has been released about the potential strike, but, if it were confirmed, it would be the first known U.S. strike in Pakistan since 2018. Continue reading “Declassified Documents Shed A Light on U.S. Drone Warfare in Pakistan”

Impact of Drones in Battlefield

Posted on August 22, 2023August 22, 2023 by prizm

by Cmde BR Prakash VSM (Retd), published Defense Research and Studies, February 27, 2023

Impact of Drones in battlefield has changed the conventional warfare.

Drones are the latest game-changers or force multipliers in modern warfare. Drone warfare started to gain prominence when the US cracked down hard upon insurgents and terrorists soon after the 9/11 bombings using drones to strike at targets. Since then, they have been extensively deployed for surveillance and strikes in the battle against terrorism. The last four years saw several countries using drones in their battles; Nigeria used drones against Boko Haram, Turkey used them in Syrian raids, the UK in Iraq and Syria, and the US in Libya. The latest conflict between Azerbaijan-Armenia again witnessed their deployment in large numbers where they were tremendously effective against the entrenched troops, armour and artillery. Azerbaijan used its drone fleet to destroy Armenia’s weapons systems in Nagorno-Karabakh, enabling a swift advance and victory. Continue reading “Impact of Drones in Battlefield”

Welcome to the Slaughterhouse

Posted on August 9, 2023 by prizm

by Nick Mottern and Jack Gilroy, published on Counterpunch, August 8, 2023

What does Ukraine need the most? Its military officials now list five things when asked, Dmitri Alperovitch said in his latest podcast, which was recorded in Ukraine. Those five things are “artillery shells, artillery shells, artillery shells, artillery shells, and more artillery shells.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said much the same when asked a similar question about two weeks ago at the conclusion of this year’s NATO summit in Lithuania.: “What we need most of all is artillery shells, and they’re in short supply. We’re working on that.” Continue reading “Welcome to the Slaughterhouse”

U.S. Citizens Join Runway Occupation at NATO Nuclear Air Base Volkel, Netherland

Posted on August 9, 2023 by prizm

According to Wikipedia: “It is believed that since the early 1960s, USAF nuclear weapons have been stored at Volkel Air Base, to be used by the host nation’s aircraft.”

“The USAF 703rd Munitions Support Squadron (703rd MUNSS) is in charge of maintaining and securing the weapons. As of 2008, 22 B61 nuclear bombs are believed to be in storage at Volkel, to be used by the Dutch 311 and 312 F-16 squadrons at the base.” [jb]

Early Tues., August 8, ten anti-war & climate activists including six from the United States, were detained by police after they occupied the runway at Volkel airbase demanding the withdrawal of the U.S. nuclear bombs stationed there, and an end to nuclear weapons-related CO₂ emissions.
Continue reading “U.S. Citizens Join Runway Occupation at NATO Nuclear Air Base Volkel, Netherland”

Peace Rally for Ukraine – No More War – Scranton, Pa.

Posted on August 1, 2023August 9, 2023 by prizm

by Vera Scroggins, from Youtube, July 22, 1923

President Joe Biden’s Hometown. Home of Scranton Army Ammunition Plant at 156 Cedar Ave., Scranton, Pa.. Several Peace Activists speak and Peace groups from several States attended.

Continue reading “Peace Rally for Ukraine – No More War – Scranton, Pa.”

Swarms of Mass Destruction: The Case for Declaring Armed and Fully Autonomous Drone Swarms as WMD

Posted on July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

Zachary Kallenborn, punlished on the Modern War Instititute, May 28, 2020

Drones and AI: this article is largely about projects that have not come to fruition yet. However, it is interesting to see what they are thinking about. I saw demos of a drone swarm back in 2009 at a conference. The were pretty bumbly at the time so we can see here that they have improved. Even so, they are not fine tuned or, apparently, fine tunable. The software has to solve problems on its own, so it cannot be 100% under control. Something to be concerned about.

In 2017, artificial-intelligence researcher Stuart Russell presented the “Slaughterbots” video at a meeting of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons. When Dr. Russell and the Future of Life Institute released the video on YouTube, it quickly went viral. In the video, fictionalized swarms of drones recognize, target, and kill opponents autonomously. The drones assassinate activists and political leaders, and a slaughterbots manufacturer claims that $25 million of drones can wipe out half a city. Continue reading “Swarms of Mass Destruction: The Case for Declaring Armed and Fully Autonomous Drone Swarms as WMD”

Cluster Munitions Will Change Nothing for Ukraine

Posted on July 28, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

by Scott Ritter, published on Information Clearing House, July 13, 2023

I give the last word for today to Scott Ritter, an expert by any standard. [jb]

The US decision to provide Ukraine with the M864 DPICM round is driven by one thing and one thing only….

The Biden administration has announced that it will be authorizing a new tranche of military support for Ukraine
Totaling around $800 million, it will also feature Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles, air defense missiles, and anti-mine equipment—and hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) rounds, the M864.

The United States has, prior to the recent announcement, refused to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for one simple reason—much of the world, including many of America’s NATO allies—views cluster munitions as representing an unacceptable risk to civilian life due to the high occurrence of “dud” munitions (i.e., munitions that fail to detonate on impact). As a result, cluster munitions continue to kill long after the battle where they were employed has ended. The victims tend to be civilians who stumble upon these munitions and inadvertently set them off. Continue reading “Cluster Munitions Will Change Nothing for Ukraine”

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