Stop Drone Killing, Then Stop the Whole Ukraine War

Posted on May 13, 2023May 13, 2023 by prizm

by Nick Mottern, published on Counterpunch, May 12, 2023

As the Russian military intensifies its drone attacks on Kyiv and Ukraine’s troops increase usage of homemade drones to hit Russian targets, the region and the world acutely need a proposal calling on both sides to negotiate an end to the war. A first step could be for both sides to agree to stop using weaponized drones.

Current commentary discusses advantages, for one side or the other, to reliance on weaponized drones. But the history of drone warfare in the Ukraine and in earlier wars, reveals two crucial points.

First, the notion that using killer drones will somehow provide the winning edge in combat is magical thinking. In reality, their use only prolongs war and piles up dead bodies. This has been true, in fact, wherever weaponized drones have been used, since the first modern-day drone attack was launched, unsuccessfully, by the United States on the first day of its Illegal invasion of Afghanistan, nearly 22 years ago. Continue reading “Stop Drone Killing, Then Stop the Whole Ukraine War”

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”

Downing US Drones Saves Thousands of Lives

Posted on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 by prizm

by Drago Bosnic, published on InfoBRICS, March 16, 2023

This event illustrates what I have long seen as some critical issues with the use of large weaponizable, intelligence seeking drones. Stealth warriors, they fly below the radar, so to speak. Targets may see them, but they cannot ascertain whether or not they are armed. Regardless, the surveillance they do provides information to weapons somewhere, regardless of whether those weapons are actually on the drone. They cross boundaries without raising red flags. These drones play diverse roles in war, but in no case are they innocent like, say, the Chinese weather balloon the US recently shot down off the our east coast. [jb]
Continue reading “Downing US Drones Saves Thousands of Lives”

Blood Does Not Wash Away Blood

Posted on March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 by prizm

By Kathy Kelly, published on World BEYOND War, March 14, 2023

The extraordinary March 10, 2023 announcement that China’s top diplomat, Mr. Wang Yi, helped broker a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran suggests that major powers can benefit from believing that, as Albert Camus once put it, “words are more powerful than munitions.”

This concept was also acknowledged by General Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff who said on January 20^th, 2023, that he believes Russia’s war in Ukraine will conclude with negotiations rather than on the battlefield. In November of 2022, asked about prospects for diplomacy in Ukraine, Milley noted that the early refusal to negotiate in World War One compounded human suffering and led to millions more casualties. Continue reading “Blood Does Not Wash Away Blood”

Drones and the Future of War | People and Power (Video)

Posted on March 12, 2023 by prizm

by William Davies and Rory Challands, published on Al Jazeera, February 23, 2023

The war in Ukraine has seen a proliferation of aerial drones for both surveillance and combat. The military advantages of these relatively cheap systems are obvious – especially for a force taking on a more conventionally powerful foe – and there is nothing so useful to a soldier as knowing what lies over a hill. But does the increasing sophistication of the technology point to a future in which artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons also become commonplace? And if that happens – what ethical questions might it raise? For People and Power, filmmakers William Davies and Rory Challands went to find out.

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”

Slowly But Steadily, the Executive Branch is Bringing Back Widespread Drone Warfare

Posted on March 8, 2023 by prizm

by Andrew Corbley, published on Antiwar.com, March 7, 2023

Not at any other time in the 21st century has the average American kept up less with the Global War on Terror, and now three presidents later, the questions of legality, productivity, and collateral damage remain as unanswered as they’ve ever been. Continue reading “Slowly But Steadily, the Executive Branch is Bringing Back Widespread Drone Warfare”

Less Than a Mile From Drone Base, Bandits Stole Bags of U.S. Tax Dollars in Broad Daylight

Posted on February 24, 2023February 24, 2023 by prizm

by Nick Turse, published on The Intercept, February 20, 2023

“The Americans have drones, they have planes, they have sophisticated equipment,” a Nigerien activist told The Intercept. “But it’s not helping.”

AGADEZ, Niger — Officially, Base Aerienne 201, located in this town on the southern fringe of the Sahara desert, is not a U.S. military outpost. In reality, Air Base 201 — known locally as “Base Americaine” — is the linchpin of the U.S. military’s archipelago of bases in North and West Africa and a key part of America’s wide-ranging intelligence, surveillance, and security efforts in the region. Continue reading “Less Than a Mile From Drone Base, Bandits Stole Bags of U.S. Tax Dollars in Broad Daylight”

New Report Unpacks Dangers of Emerging Military Tech, From AI Nukes to Killer Robots

Posted on February 7, 2023February 7, 2023 by Judy Bello

by Brett Wilkins, published on Common Dreams, February 7, 2023

“While the media and the U.S. Congress have devoted much attention to the purported benefits of exploiting cutting-edge technologies for military use, far less has been said about the risks involved.”

Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, lethal autonomous weapons systems, and hypersonic missiles pose a potentially existential threat that underscores the imperative of arms control measures to slow the pace of weaponization, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The Arms Control Association report—entitled Assessing the Dangers: Emerging Military Technologies and Nuclear (In)Stability—”unpacks the concept of ’emerging technologies’ and summarizes the debate over their utilization for military purposes and their impact on strategic stability.” Continue reading “New Report Unpacks Dangers of Emerging Military Tech, From AI Nukes to Killer Robots”

Caitlin Johnstone: Normalizing Police Robot Murder

Posted on December 10, 2022 by prizm

by Caitlin Johnstone, published on Consortium News, December 8, 2022

Governments have been incrementally prepping the public toward accepting the use of police robots that kill people.

Fortunately, under public pressure, a decision by the city of San Francisco was reversed on Tuesday that would have legalized the use of killbots in certain types of emergencies, such as active shooters and suicide bombers, with high-ranking officers making the call as to whether their use is warranted. Continue reading “Caitlin Johnstone: Normalizing Police Robot Murder”

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