AI and Drone Technology

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”

A Move to Ban Weaponized Drones

Posted on June 5, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

by Ann Wright, published on Common Dreams, June 5, 2023

Citizen activism to bring about changes in how brutal wars are conducted is extremely difficult, but not impossible. Citizens have successfully pushed through the United Nations General Assembly treaties to abolish nuclear weapons and to ban the use of landmines and cluster munitions.

Of course, countries that want to continue to use these weapons will not follow the lead of the vast majority of countries in the world and sign those treaties. The United States and the other eight nuclear armed countries have refused to sign the treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. Likewise, the United States and 15 other countries, including Russia and China, have refused to sign the ban on the use of cluster bombs. The United States and 31 other countries, including Russia and China, have refused to sign the treaty on the ban on land mines. Continue reading “A Move to Ban Weaponized Drones”

Border Drones; EU Border Surveillance

Posted on May 21, 2023May 21, 2023 by prizm

This article is long, but it is packed with information about what drones are used by EU security, how they are deployed and what subcontractors are involved. So, if you are looking for information about what is going on, you can find it here.

Published on “Security Architectures in the EU“. Posted by Matthias Monroy, July 2022 Continue reading “Border Drones; EU Border Surveillance”

US and Taiwan Plan tTo Equip Kiev Regime Forces With ‘Swarms-of-Swarms’ Drones

Posted on March 30, 2023 by prizm

by Drago Bosnic, published on InfoBRICS, March 28, 2023

There’s very little doubt that warfare has changed dramatically in recent decades, with the tactical gap between leading militaries and those of local powers (or even the usually overlooked small countries) narrowing as the proliferation of unmanned systems continues unabated. With the advent of the information era, the abundance of war footage has essentially eliminated the once-assured readiness of tens of millions to go to war, leaving militaries around the globe struggling to meet their recruitment quotas. Losing even a hundred drones is certainly preferable to having ten soldiers (or even one) killed and/or wounded in action, particularly for politicians and their respective parties seeking reelection. As a result, drones, robots and other unmanned vehicles have become increasingly important. Continue reading “US and Taiwan Plan tTo Equip Kiev Regime Forces With ‘Swarms-of-Swarms’ Drones”

The Reaper UAV Is Getting Its Own Drone Swarm

Posted on March 12, 2023 by prizm

In 2009 I observed a graduate project where they were teaching small drones to operate as a swarm. The were using little boxes on wheels, as the main focus of the project was to get the swarm to operate coordinate so they would act as one under many circumstances. They had a long way to go. Now we see this, and I would guess the kind of project I saw did not lead to major success. In this concept, they would use the Reaper as the leader, human intervention to support other appearances of social activity. AI never seems to be all it’s cracked up to be. [jb]

by Patrick Tucker, published on Defense One, March 6, 2023

The venerable Reaper UAV could become a mothership for a single-operator drone swarm, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command said recently. Continue reading “The Reaper UAV Is Getting Its Own Drone Swarm”

Yikes, the U.S. Is Now Using Facial Recognition Rigged Drones for Special Ops

Posted on March 3, 2023March 3, 2023 by prizm

by Lucas Ropec, published on Gizmodo, February 27, 2023

Flying killer robots used to be a nightmarish sci-fi fantasy—something that only existed in James Cameron movies or Michael Crichton novels. These days, not so much. Not only is drone warfare close to two decades old, but innovations to this lethal technology are being developed all the time.

Case in point: New Scientist magazine recently unearthed a contract between the U.S. Air Force and a little known defense firm that shows the government is using reconnaissance and surveillance drones equipped with facial recognition to aid in special operations missions. Continue reading “Yikes, the U.S. Is Now Using Facial Recognition Rigged Drones for Special Ops”

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