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And Great Britain just announced plans to deliver 100,000 of them to Ukraine. Ukraine lacks the manpower compared to Russia. It seems logical to strengthen thei

And Great Britain just announced plans to deliver 100,000 of them to Ukraine. Ukraine lacks the manpower compared to Russia. It seems logical to strengthen their forces by deploying these flying mini terminators. I believe we are not far from large-scale drone warfare. In World War II, we had epic tank and aircraft battles; now, the time has come for autonomous drone battlefields.

jajko 1y ago
[flagged]
- MetaWhirledPeas 1y ago
  I hope this scares nations away from warfare altogether, given the unpredictability of outcomes with heavy drone usage. Even China: they may have a lot of the little buggers, but that Ukraine attack took a lot of scheming. I doubt China can out-manufacture human and AI trickery.
- NoOn3 1y ago
  I'm afraid they won't have a choice. Without Russia The West and Nato will crush China fast.
  - NoOn3 1y ago
    Only The West and Ukraine can stop this, the East part has no choise in that case, becase If they lose, they will cease to exist...
pjc50 1y ago
Missed that news; https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-pledges-deliver-100000-drones-ukraine-by-april-2026-2025-06-03/ https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-p... I think we're already deep into large-scale drone warfare. Destroying a third of the enemy heavy bomber fleet is pretty substantial. It feels to me like that attack operated like Pearl Harbor, a marker that the old way of surface naval warfare / air attack was being replaced by a new one. Don't forget that Russia has their own drones. They were the first to deploy the fiber-optic cable drones as an anti-ECM measure. And of course both sides are ordering parts from China.
- IshKebab 1y ago
  $4k per drone... ouch.
  - pjc50 1y ago
    A lot of money if you're a UK benefits recipient, not a lot of money for a piece of military equipment. Slightly more than the annual allowance of one asylum seeker. Whole program is about a third of the cost of a Type 26 Frigate.
    - CommanderData 1y ago
      The asylum seeker comparison is interesting. While I want to reduce the number, I can't but help think how we essentially create them in the first place by destroying the countries which create the economic conditions they flee from.
      - dash2 1y ago
        Asylum seekers are not fleeing bad economic conditions, or at least they are claiming not to. Also, we didn't create refugees from Syria or Ukraine - Syria and Russia did.
        CommanderData 1y ago
        Not entirely, I think western powers had much more involvement then you have summarized. Destabilising a country, causing military coups, arming rebel forces all play a part.
  - ponector 1y ago
    Kamikaze FPV drones starts from $400 (without warhead), from $1000 if it has 20km of optic fiber or is an interceptor. If it is not a kamikaze, like heavy bomber or reconnaissance - $10k+. Extremely affordable!
    - 1y ago
gusfoo 1y ago
The UK has also released some details of a new 'in bulk' RF-based drone takedown DEW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1vY5efYXMQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1vY5efYXMQ
ponector 1y ago
100k kamikaze drones are not that many for the current stage of war. Millions are consumed annually.
- londons_explore 1y ago
  Future children will walk through the forests collecting drone motors to make their next school project...

jajko 1y ago

[flagged]

MetaWhirledPeas 1y ago
I hope this scares nations away from warfare altogether, given the unpredictability of outcomes with heavy drone usage. Even China: they may have a lot of the little buggers, but that Ukraine attack took a lot of scheming. I doubt China can out-manufacture human and AI trickery.
NoOn3 1y ago
I'm afraid they won't have a choice. Without Russia The West and Nato will crush China fast.
- NoOn3 1y ago
  Only The West and Ukraine can stop this, the East part has no choise in that case, becase If they lose, they will cease to exist...

pjc50 1y ago

Missed that news; https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-pledges-deliver-100000-drones-ukraine-by-april-2026-2025-06-03/ https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-p... I think we're already deep into large-scale drone warfare. Destroying a third of the enemy heavy bomber fleet is pretty substantial. It feels to me like that attack operated like Pearl Harbor, a marker that the old way of surface naval warfare / air attack was being replaced by a new one. Don't forget that Russia has their own drones. They were the first to deploy the fiber-optic cable drones as an anti-ECM measure. And of course both sides are ordering parts from China.

IshKebab 1y ago
$4k per drone... ouch.
- pjc50 1y ago
  A lot of money if you're a UK benefits recipient, not a lot of money for a piece of military equipment. Slightly more than the annual allowance of one asylum seeker. Whole program is about a third of the cost of a Type 26 Frigate.
  - CommanderData 1y ago
    The asylum seeker comparison is interesting. While I want to reduce the number, I can't but help think how we essentially create them in the first place by destroying the countries which create the economic conditions they flee from.
    - dash2 1y ago
      Asylum seekers are not fleeing bad economic conditions, or at least they are claiming not to. Also, we didn't create refugees from Syria or Ukraine - Syria and Russia did.
      - CommanderData 1y ago
        Not entirely, I think western powers had much more involvement then you have summarized. Destabilising a country, causing military coups, arming rebel forces all play a part.
- ponector 1y ago
  Kamikaze FPV drones starts from $400 (without warhead), from $1000 if it has 20km of optic fiber or is an interceptor. If it is not a kamikaze, like heavy bomber or reconnaissance - $10k+. Extremely affordable!
  - 1y ago

gusfoo 1y ago

The UK has also released some details of a new 'in bulk' RF-based drone takedown DEW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1vY5efYXMQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1vY5efYXMQ

ponector 1y ago

100k kamikaze drones are not that many for the current stage of war. Millions are consumed annually.

londons_explore 1y ago
Future children will walk through the forests collecting drone motors to make their next school project...