Book Review: ‘War in Space – Strategy, Spacepower, Geopolitics’ by Bleddyn E. Bowen. Published by Edinburgh University Press, 2020 With the increasing recognition of satellite technology as critical to our daily lives, a number of states, including the US and the UK, now see space as a critical military domain
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SMART SHOOTER, a world-class designer, developer, and manufacturer of innovative fire control systems that significantly increase the accuracy and lethality of small arms, reveals the SMASH Dragon: an armed drone system incorporating Smart Shooter’s combat-proven SMASH Technology that ensures precise target elimination. Presented by the company for the first time,
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Raytheon released new footage showing 4×4 M-ATV-based and fixed palletized launch systems firing Block 2+ Coyote drones, which then defeat a variety of fixed-wing unmanned vehicles at different altitudes. In partnership with the U.S. Army’s Integrated Fires and Rapid Capabilities Office, Raytheon Missiles & Defense successfully showcased several counter-unmanned
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The influential State of AI Report 2021, published in October, makes the alarming observation that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes is now moving from research into the production phase. The report highlights three indicators which it argues shows this development, one of which is the
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The first combat use of the latest attack unmanned aerial vehicle “Orion” against an air target during tests at the Crimean training ground. During the flight, Orion hit ground targets and a helicopter-type drone simulating a maneuvering air target. At present, specialists are testing an aerial reconnaissance complex with unmanned
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The second flying prototype of Russia’s S-70 Okhotnik unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) has emerged, and it features the long-awaited stealthier nozzle configuration, among many other refinements, that should maximize the low observability and combat effectiveness of the production version. While the redesigned Sukhoi drone has yet to fly and
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Drone Wars UK’s latest briefing looks at where and how artificial intelligence is currently being applied in the military context and considers the legal and ethical, operational and strategic risks posed. Artificial Intelligence (AI), automated decision making, and autonomous technologies have already become common in everyday life and offer immense
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The Brazilian Army is seeking to adopt unmanned combat tactical effectors such as loitering munitions and armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The army is conducting preliminary studies that are expected to culminate with the publication of requirements for such systems over the next few years, Lieutenant Colonel Leonardo Gomes Saraiva,
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Specialists with the U.S. Air Force 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron provide base defense at Al Dhafra Air Base from threats posed by Unmanned Aerial Systems using a 5-pound radar gun-like device. “Our mission is to detect and defeat all UAS threats,” explained Master Sgt. Manuel Santiago, counter-UAS noncommissioned officer
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Weddings. Hospitals. Refugee camps. Aid workers. All have become the target of lethal strikes this year due to the spreading use of drones by a growing number of states. Here we detail six particular strikes and, below, reflect on what they show about the reality of drone warfare today.
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The SkyWall Patrol Net-Capture and HP47 handheld-jamming systems have been used together by leading specialist law enforcement across Europe since 2016. Combining electronic defeat and physical capture to provide a highly effective CUAS capability. OpenWorks and HP are now combining forces to show a new track-defeat concept at the NATO
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Azeem Azhar, Exponential: How Accelerating Technology Is Leaving us Behind and What to Do About It, Cornerstone, 2021 The central message of Azeem Azhar’s new book, ‘Exponential’, is that technology is a force that humanity can direct, rather than a force which will enslave us. This may seem optimistic,
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Russia’s Kronshtadt has come to Dubai to demonstrate an exportable armed version of the Orion-E medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (MALE UCAV) outfitted with a satellite communications system (satcom) for control and data exchange. First time on display outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, the drone has operated in
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Turkey’s Baykar signed a contract with Ukrainian firm Ivchenko-Progress for the delivery of AI-322F Turbofan engines its Combat Unmanned Aircraft System (MIUS) project. The deal was signed between the parties at the SAHA EXPO Defense and Aviation Hybrid Fair organized by SAHA Istanbul. MUIS will be jet-powered, with a payload
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Near Earth Autonomy and L3Harris Technologies have successfully demonstrated an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capable of autonomously delivering life-saving blood and other medical supplies hundreds of miles from operational bases to medics in the field. Whole blood is the ideal fluid for hemorrhagic shock treatment in tactical combat care. The
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Ghatak [Hindi-language = Lethal or Dangerous] is a fully funded and sanctioned national defence project for an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA) was a tentative name for an Indian UCAV project, but was eventually called the Ghatak UCAV. In 2007 the public learned about the
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More than 2½ years after the Kurdish-led, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) overran the final piece of ISIS held territory, the UK continue to undertake air and drone strikes in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader. Although the MoD has published some details of these strikes, through analysis of
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In the last few months Drone Wars and UK Drone Watch have organised protests outside RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in North East Scotland. We were protesting the decision to allow US arms manufacturer General Atomics to conduct experimental flights of their SkyGuardian drone in UK airspace. SkyGuardian
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The UK government published its National AI Strategy in mid-September, billed as a “ten-year plan to make Britain a global AI superpower”. Despite the hype, the strategy has so far attracted curiously little comment and interest from the mainstream media. This is a cause for concern because
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Fortem Technologies, leaders in airspace security and defense for detecting and defeating dangerous drones, proved to an audience of over 140 agencies last week that their DroneHunter®, the world’s premier AI-enabled interceptor drone, could safely remove a threatening drone from a complex airport environment. The recent test event at Oslo
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UVision Air Ltd. and Rheinmetall have signed this week a strategic partnering agreement for loitering munitions. The agreement leverages both companies’ capabilities to provide the European market with precise, combat-proven weapon systems. The Hero family of loitering munitions will be available to European customers to satisfy contemporary and emerging operational
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A whole range of unmanned aerial vehicles featuring elements of artificial intelligence are currently being developed for Russia’s armed forces. The project that stands out is the S-70 Hunter. The heavy combat drone, developed by the Sukhoi Aviation company, is created in accordance with the Flying Wing aerodynamic design using
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The unofficial page of the Moroccan Armed Forces on Facebook, Far-Maroc, reported that Morocco received the first batch of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drones. Local Moroccan media said that Rabat ordered 13 Bayraktar TB2 drones in April following a $70 million signed contract with the private Turkish company Baykar. Baykar
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4GD, Close-combat immersive specialist 4GD has entered into a strategic partnership with Parrot, the leading European drone group. Under the partnership, Parrot’s ANAFI USA drone will be integrated into 4GD’s synthetic training environment, giving users the ability to train for unmanned flight operations in a way that exactly replicates live
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China’s big international airshow in Zhuhai hasn’t even officially kicked off yet, but we are already getting a peek at what is going to be displayed there. We are getting our first lifesize view of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s Cai Hong (Rainbow) 6, better known by
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Fortem Technologies, leaders in airspace security and defence for detecting and defeating dangerous drones, announced today that their DroneHunter® successfully defeated threat drones during a recent US Army test in Yuma Proving Ground, AZ. DroneHunter is an AI-enabled, radar-guided drone that locks onto its target, fires a net, captures
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Poland’s WB Group is pushing its new W2MPIR swarming unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, which it says is designed to defeat an adversary’s layered air defences. The system comprises the company’s FlyEye and FT-5 Łoś (Moose) tactical reconnaissance UAVs, as well as Warmate 1 (3.0) and Warmate 2 loitering munitions.
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Fortem Technologies, leaders in airspace security and defense for detecting and defeating dangerous drones, announced successful performance in detecting small UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) before a team of U.S. Government evaluators based on an Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) requirement in May 2021. The event focused on testing various
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