Article

‘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”

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”

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”

US, Allies Running Out of Weapons to Send Ukraine

Posted on July 27, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

by Kyle Anzalone, published by the Libertarian Institute, July 18, 2023

Bottom line, their stashes are depleted (China should take some comfort here) and they have to purchase weapons for Ukraine. [jb]

The North Atlantic alliance is running so low on weapons it may be unable to keep supplying Kiev, according to CNN. A high-ranking British defense official said the predicament was created because NATO had no long-term plans for the war in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, CNN reported speaking with a defense official who claimed the US was approaching the point where it could no longer supply Ukraine with weapons. “There is a set level of munitions in US stockpiles around the world, essentially an emergency reserve, that the military is not willing to part ways with. The levels of those stockpiles are classified.” The outlet explained US officials believe “the US has been nearing that red line.” Continue reading “US, Allies Running Out of Weapons to Send Ukraine”

U.S. to Announce $1.3 Bln in Military Aid for Ukraine -Sources

Posted on July 27, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

by Mike Stone, published by Reuters, July 18, 2023

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) – The United States will announce a new pledge to buy $1.3 billion worth of military aid for Kyiv in its conflict with Russia in the coming days, two U.S. officials said.

The previously unreported weapons package includes air defenses, counter-drone systems, exploding drones and ammunition, one of the U.S. officials said. Continue reading “U.S. to Announce $1.3 Bln in Military Aid for Ukraine -Sources”

Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions

Posted on July 27, 2023July 28, 2023 by prizm

“I need ammunition, not a ride”
attributed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

from GlobalSecurity.org, July 17, 2023

This article quotes a lot of people who do not agree on what is happening in Ukraine, but it is interesting for that very reason. Pick your poison. But it also describes how they work and what the risks are. Cluster Munitions are clearly a risk to civilians all excuses aside.

Both the Ukrainians and the Russians used cluster munitions during the full-scale war that began in February 2022. A single Dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) cluster artillery shell can do the job of 10 conventional high-explosive fragmentation shells when destroying most typical targets, which is extremely important in a situation where the supply of ammunition to Ukraine had faced enormous difficulties. Continue reading “Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions”

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”

Military Drones Swarming Ukraine Skies, Other Hot Spots; Anything Goes When It Comes to International Law

Posted on May 22, 2023July 28, 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 Swarming Ukraine Skies, Other Hot Spots; Anything Goes When It Comes to International Law”

Drone Proliferation in the Ukraine War

Posted on May 21, 2023 by prizm

Posted by Monroy Mathias on Security Architectures in the EU, November 2022

Russia’s war in Ukraine is increasingly being fought with unmanned systems. Both sides are using so-called „loitering munitions“ originating from the US or Iran. A new Iranian drone clone could also soon be flying attacks.

Iran wants to export more attack drones to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. The exact number of units is not known. However, the unmanned systems are said to be part of a package of 1,000 additional weapons, including short-range surface-to-surface missiles. This was reported by the US news magazine CNN. The delivery is to take place before the end of the year. Russia intends to use it to supplement its dwindling supply of small Lancet-3 attack drones. Continue reading “Drone Proliferation in the Ukraine War”

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)