6 ms·
once robots get more capable There’s a common misconception that robots are not yet capable enough. This obscures the present, unexecuted, reality. It is well
by ryanmarsh 8y ago
once robots get more capable
There’s a common misconception that robots are not yet capable enough. This obscures the present, unexecuted, reality.
It is well within the budget of many nations to build grenade carrying swarms of drones capable of autonomously patrolling and attacking human targets. The fact that we have not seen this on a wide scale has no bearing on present capabilities, or that which is within reach. If you search YouTube you can already find examples of ISIS using remote piloted inexpensive drones to attack armored targets with devastating effectiveness.
This is here, now.
As a former light infantry grunt I have a visceral feel for the breathtaking transformation of the battle space we may soon witness. Within an AO it is very challenging to deny access to light infantry, even in the most foreboding terrain. Autonomous drones can and will effectively deny infantry access to large areas. This fundamentally changes ground warfare, even guerrilla.
Use logic. Can a drone recognize someone holding a weapon? Can a system be devised to demark areas of friendlies? Are all nations as cautious as the US when it comes to each weapons release?
- AlexCoventry 8y agoWhat is AO?
- rhcom2 8y agoArea of operations
- lowbloodsugar 8y agohttps://www.quora.com/What-does-AO-mean-in-the-military https://www.quora.com/What-does-AO-mean-in-the-military
- lowbloodsugar 8y ago1500 rounds in a Phalanx, so need 1510 drones (catapults, radar, any aircraft on deck), at, say $5000 each. $7.5m to take a carrier out of the battle. I hope the Navy has wargamed this or demonstrated the phalanx software wont shit itself with that many targets.
- imrelaxed 8y agoCheck out the US Navy’s new laser cannon!
- ryanmarsh 8y agoSomething like a CIWS could work but it’s big and heavy and probably would need some time to calibrate. So you can’t have them with you everywhere, especially on a foot patrol, raid, recon, etc...
- imtringued 8y agoHow are the drones different from a simple bomb or missile then? You might as well just build a smaller SDB with more strikes. The vast majority of these drone weapons boil down to the concept of a guided bomb. Drones have a limited operational time measured in minutes and they can only attack once. The only difference to conventional bombs is that smaller explosives cause less collateral damage.
- SerLava 8y ago
- imrelaxed 8y agoAgreed. Modern commercially available drones can follow targets, even if they are temporarily obscured, detect faces, path around obstacles and perform preprogrammed tasks. The higher end ones typically carry enough compute power to do fairly advanced video recognition and execute logic. All that’s really missing for weaponization is an articulated firearm.
- StavrosK 8y agoWhat do you need an articulated firearm for? Isn't some C4 good enough? Hell, why do you need the drone to be autonomous? There are $100 drones that can be piloted remotely from kilometers away.
- Abekkus 8y agoAlso, you can leave scores of drones lying in wait, and alert a small number of pilots to fly the right ones when motion is detected.
- ryanmarsh 8y ago> Isn't some C4 good enough? Not by itself. An area weapon is fine, which is why I said grenade. They are effective even with enemy in defilade. Rifles are cumbersome, give their position away and have recoil. > why do you need the drone to be autonomous Electronic Countermeasures
- HeadsUpHigh 8y agoThis is why autonomy might be desirable: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=turkish+soldiers+drone+jammer&t=ffab&atb=v101-3&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fc58y4w8hgu701.jpg https://duckduckgo.com/?q=turkish+soldiers+drone+jammer&t=ff...
- HeadsUpHigh 8y agoWe are getting closer to the cyberpunk squad of guys with cf body armor, one guy with a drone jammer and a couple more with high suppressible firepower.