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Is there a large current threat of enemy drone armies? Because I thought most of our last two wars were fought against loosely organized militia fighters and I

by ProAm 10y ago

Is there a large current threat of enemy drone armies? Because I thought most of our last two wars were fought against loosely organized militia fighters and IEDs.

simcop2387 10y ago
I believe it'll largely depend on who we have our next war with. If it's with a first world nation then more sophisticated air support should be expected.
scld 10y ago
Many of those threats are technologically solved and the improvements will be iterative. Our R&D needs to focus on projected future threats. Also, our last two "wars" were no real threat to our country. We don't need directed energy weapons and stealth submarines against jihadists, but we might against Russia and China.
deckar01 10y ago
> the U.S. Army’s ‘Phaser’ can ... take down ... anything with circuits in a single shot ... iPads, computers, targeting systems or even cars speeding toward checkpoints.
ruddct 10y ago
IS is already using commercially available drones as weapons http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/world/middleeast/iraq-drones-isis.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/world/middleeast/iraq-dron...
orky56 10y ago
If you can take out an enemy vehicle before it gets to your checkpoint, then suicide bombers and other forms of guerilla warfare will become obsolete since they will not have sufficient enough range. As it is, they rely on more primitive technologies since they are less cash rich but now their weapons that don't have circuit boards will be more effective. Intelligence and espionage will still be more useful than firepower directly.
adventured 10y ago
Do you think that 15-20 years from now nearly every nation won't have military attack drones of varying types? The military would be crazy to not build / R&D new weapons for where technology is moving rather than where it was decades ago. It's simply skating to where the puck is going to be.
Rebelgecko 10y ago
Like the article mentions, ISIS and other bad guys do have drones (think DJI Phantoms, not Predators). ISIS even uses drone footage of attacks for their propaganda videos. I saw a report from a journalist following around Iraqi special forces retaking Mosul. At one point an Iraqi officer pulls out his iPad and a DJI controller to fly around and gather intelligence. I'm sure ISIS does the same. It was a little unsettling to see things that I considered fun gadgets/toys used for warfare.
arjie 10y ago
You know how they say "Generals always fight the last war"? Presumably this and other advanced technologies are an attempt to make sure we fight the war that we end up being in.

by ProAm 10y ago

Is there a large current threat of enemy drone armies? Because I thought most of our last two wars were fought against loosely organized militia fighters and IEDs.

simcop2387 10y ago

I believe it'll largely depend on who we have our next war with. If it's with a first world nation then more sophisticated air support should be expected.

scld 10y ago

Many of those threats are technologically solved and the improvements will be iterative. Our R&D needs to focus on projected future threats. Also, our last two "wars" were no real threat to our country. We don't need directed energy weapons and stealth submarines against jihadists, but we might against Russia and China.

deckar01 10y ago

> the U.S. Army’s ‘Phaser’ can ... take down ... anything with circuits in a single shot ... iPads, computers, targeting systems or even cars speeding toward checkpoints.

ruddct 10y ago

IS is already using commercially available drones as weapons http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/world/middleeast/iraq-drones-isis.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/world/middleeast/iraq-dron...

orky56 10y ago

If you can take out an enemy vehicle before it gets to your checkpoint, then suicide bombers and other forms of guerilla warfare will become obsolete since they will not have sufficient enough range. As it is, they rely on more primitive technologies since they are less cash rich but now their weapons that don't have circuit boards will be more effective. Intelligence and espionage will still be more useful than firepower directly.

adventured 10y ago

Do you think that 15-20 years from now nearly every nation won't have military attack drones of varying types? The military would be crazy to not build / R&D new weapons for where technology is moving rather than where it was decades ago. It's simply skating to where the puck is going to be.

Rebelgecko 10y ago

Like the article mentions, ISIS and other bad guys do have drones (think DJI Phantoms, not Predators). ISIS even uses drone footage of attacks for their propaganda videos. I saw a report from a journalist following around Iraqi special forces retaking Mosul. At one point an Iraqi officer pulls out his iPad and a DJI controller to fly around and gather intelligence. I'm sure ISIS does the same. It was a little unsettling to see things that I considered fun gadgets/toys used for warfare.

arjie 10y ago

You know how they say "Generals always fight the last war"? Presumably this and other advanced technologies are an attempt to make sure we fight the war that we end up being in.