Russian Kamikazi Lancet Drones Are Blunting Ukraine's Counteroffensive

Russian Kamikazi Lancet drones appear to be easily destroying all of the NATO equipment that we are sending to Ukraine.

This is what happened to billions of $$ in equipment sent.

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pic.twitter.com/8aYd4mLAP7

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) June 15, 2023

WNU Editor: Wall Street Silver's analysis is spot on .... 

.... Any military people out there? Is there a solution for this? 

How can expensive equipment on the battlefield be protected when cheap drones can just destroy everything remotely? 

Is the future of war cheap drones blowing everything up? 

 Next … artificial intelligence drones. 

Since the beginning of this blog WNU has been predicting that drones are going to play a major role in future wars. It has been a long wait, but that future is now today's reality on the Ukraine battlefield. 

And here is another prediction. This is just the beginning. The future of war will be mostly fought with cheap and accurate drones blowing everything up, and the victor will be the one with the most drones.

Drone Warfare In Ukraine Is Giving A Glimpse Of The Future Of War

 

Task & Purpose: This drone-on-drone dogfight in Ukraine is a glimpse of the future of war 

Early this week the Ukrainian armed forces posted a short video to social media showing its drones in operation, flying over convoys, surveilling battlefields and in one brief bit of footage, taking out a Russian drone by crashing into it at top speed. 

The video, set to electronic music, offers a glimpse into the low-tech approach soldiers are taking to dealing with high-tech tools. 

The footage of the specific incident is short but shows what is starting to happen more and more in Ukraine. With both Russia and Ukraine making heavy use of uncrewed aerial vehicles, UAV dogfights are starting to pop up as the two warring parties try to keep the skies clear. It’s a risky strategy, given that both drones will likely be taken out, and a pretty rudimentary solution for dealing with 21st century technology. But if it’s dumb and it works, it’s not dumb. 

 Read more ....  

Update #1: Budget Drones in Ukraine Are Redefining Warfare (IEEE Spectrum)  

WNU Editor: One only has to look at the numbers to see how important drones have become on the battlefield .... Ukraine is losing 10,000 drones a month to Russian electronic-warfare systems that send fake signals and screw with their navigation, researchers say (Insider).  

Update #2: Even the Pentagon is beginning to notice .... The US is getting serious about tactical drone warfare - analysis (Jerusalem Post).

Is The The Drone War In The Caucasus A Sign Of Things To Come

IAI Harop drone

Forbes: The Weird And Worrying Drone War In The Caucasus

A forgotten war is gaining new momentum in the Caucasus, as opponents arm themselves with increasingly advanced drone technology for spying and strikes. The alarming implications stretch far beyond a small corner of Eurasia.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, conflict between the newly independent states of Armenia and Azerbaijan flared up over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that’s legally part of Azerbaijan. A ceasefire was brokered by Russia in 1994, after Armenia gained effective control of the territory. Nagorno-Karabakh has declared itself an independent state called Artsakh but has failed to win international recognition and is still widely considered part of Azerbaijan. Conflict simmers between Azerbaijan and Artsakh with their patron Armenia.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This is the wars of the future. Better adopt or die.

Drones Are Playing A Critical Role In The Libyan War

Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 drone has quickly reversed the year-long siege of Tripoli by General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army [Courtesy: Creative Commons]

Al Jazeera: 'Largest drone war in the world': How airpower saved Tripoli

LNA's goal of seizing the capital abruptly ended after Turkey's intervention with its supply of armed Bayraktar drones.

Air power has played an increasingly important role in the Libyan conflict. The relatively flat featureless desert terrain of the north and coast means that ground units are easily spotted, with few places to hide.

The air forces of both the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) use French and Soviet-era fighter jets, antiquated and poorly maintained.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Drones .... big and small .... are the future of warfare. The war in Libya is a testing ground on the role that they can play.

The Drone Wars Are Already Here

The Akıncı is the latest version of a family of drones Turkey thinks could best fight insurgency at home and abroad. (Baykar Makina)

Bloomberg: The Drone Wars Are Already Here

The skies of Syria, Yemen, and Libya swarm with armed and dangerous unmanned aerial vehicles. And the technology is spreading farther and farther afield.

The Kurdish fighters emerged from a tunnel and were spotted by a Turkish reconnaissance drone. As they were loading ammunition onto a truck in a parched Syrian landscape, the drone fed their coordinates to an F-16. It attacked seconds later, sending a huge ball of flames into the air. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but a crater—a success, Turkey’s defense ministry declared, as it released a video of the strike.

Turkey’s use of drones in such operations is highlighting the changing face of war in one of the world’s most volatile regions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) turned the tide in Ankara’s decades-old counterinsurgency against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party in the country’s southeast, northern Iraq, and Syria. In addition, the deployment of drones has saved the lives of Turkish soldiers and money for the defense ministry. Now it’s using UAVs to gain the upper hand against the Kurdish party’s sister organization, the People’s Protection Units.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The drone wars have actually been ongoing for a very long time. The only difference now is that everyone is using them.

The Entire Russian Military Is Being Trained In Anti-Drone Tactics

An Eleron-3 military drone deployed in the Russian Arctic. Image: Russian Military archives.

Popular Mechanics: The Entire Russian Military Will Be Trained in Anti-Drone Tactics

An assault in January has the Defense Ministry considering new priorities.

Drones are a growing presence on the battlefield and recognizing that trend, the Russian Defense Ministry has ordered that all branches of its military begin training in anti-drone combat.

Russian newspaper Izvestia reports that the first test of these new tactics came in October during training exercises on the Black Sea. Ground forces will also begin training to repel drones.

The shift in training comes from the Russian military's experience in Syria. In January 2018, over a dozen drones armed with explosives attacked a number of Russian targets in the region. Ten drones attacked an air base and three of them went after a naval base.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It is now a given that in future wars drones will be playing an integral part in all military operations, an not surprising, Russia is preparing for it.

U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Successfully Scores Its First Air-to-Air Kill In Training Exercise

A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper with a more common loadout consisting of AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and an underwing fuel tank to extend its range. USAF

Military.com: MQ-9 Gets First Air-to-Air Kill in Training Exercise, Air Force Official Says

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- An MQ-9 Reaper drone has bagged its first air-to-air kill of another small, aerial vehicle in a controlled simulation, an official revealed to Military.com this week.

The successful test late last year showed the U.S. Air Force that an unmanned vehicle like the MQ-9 has the ability to conduct air-to-air combat, much like its manned fighter brethren such as an F-15 Eagle or F-22 Raptor, according to Col. Julian Cheater, commander of the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

Read more ....

Update #1: Top drone: Reaper scores drone kill in air-to-air missile test (Ars Technica)
Update #2: Heat-Seeking Missile-Armed MQ-9 Reaper Shot Down Target Drone During Exercise (The Warzone/The Drive)

WNU Editor: This test was done last year, but we are only learning about it now. The day when drones are used to shoot down other drones and/or aircraft has just taken one big step forward.

Israel Is Now Using Drones To Take-Down 'Incendiary Kites' And To Drop Tear-Gas

The Warzone/The Drive: Israel Uses Drone Racers To Down Incendiary Kites And Drones To Dispense Tear Gas Over Gaza

Low-end drone warfare is becoming a centerpiece of the IDF's strategy for dealing with unrest along the Gaza border.

The age of low-end drone warfare is officially upon us, and nowhere is this reality being made more apparent than along the Gaza-Israel border. Weeks of violent protests by Palestinians along the fenceline have given birth to 'incendiary kites' as a robust asymmetric warfare tactic that we detailed in a previous piece. Now Israel is putting hobby-like drones to use to knock down those flaming kites, and even to release tear gas on protesters from across the fenceline.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The age of low-end drone warfare is definitely upon us.

Next-Gen Drones May Soon Have The Ability To Decide Who To Kill

An MQ-9 Reaper Pilot. Photo: US Air Force

Peter Lee, Asia Times: Flying killer robots? Drones will soon decide who to kill

Once complete, next-gen drones will represent the ultimate militarization of artificial intelligence. They will also ignite a vast legal and ethical debate.

Science fiction is fast becoming science fact: The US Army recently announced that it is developing the first drones that can spot and target vehicles and people using artificial intelligence (AI).

This is a huge step forward. Whereas current military drones are still controlled by people, this new technology will decide who to kill with almost no human involvement. This will grant machines power over human life.

Once complete, these drones will represent the ultimate militarisation of AI and trigger vast legal and ethical implications for wider society to debate. Could warfare shift from fighting to extermination – losing any semblance of humanity in the process? Could the sphere of warfare widen so that the companies, engineers and scientists building AI become valid targets?

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Yup .... science fiction fast becoming science fact.

The Biggest Drone Squadron Ever Has Been Deployed To Afghanistan

BBC: Up close and personal with the biggest drone squadron ever

Before taking office, Donald Trump called the war in Afghanistan a "total disaster". But last August he changed his mind and announced that the US would stay until the war was - in his words - "won". Military commanders see air power as key to the hoped-for victory, and have assembled in the country what they say is the biggest drone squadron ever.

I'm lying in the belly of a KC-135 "stratotanker", peering down at the snowy IS-infested mountains of north-eastern Afghanistan.

Suddenly the first wasp-like F16 fighter jet comes into view. It delicately positions itself under the boom that hangs down from the back of this flying fuel tank and - moments later - has locked on. The "Viper" is now taking on hundreds of pounds of aviation fuel a second.

We are so close I can see the pilot glance up at me, yet - unbelievably - this intricate ballet is playing out at 20,000ft and at 500mph.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  More confirmation that the war in Afghanistan is going to heat up.

The Pentagon Wants Its Light Infantry Soldiers To Be Able To Control Swarms Of 250 Or More Drones On The Battlefield

Army Times: Drone swarm tactics get tryout for infantry to use in urban battlespace

The science fiction-sounding goal: Put an autonomous robot swarm of 250 or more drones under the control of light infantry soldiers or Marines to do complex tasks on the urban battlefield.

Competitors are now tackling that goal in a multi-stage event announced late last year by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Events called Sprinters are intended to develop “offensive swarm-enabled tactics” for these emerging technologies.

Swarm drone technology already exists. In 2016, the Defense Department successfully tested micro-drone swarms at China Lake, California. They dropped 103 Perdix drones from three F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  This will be truly revolutionary when deployed.

A Look Inside The U.S. Drone War

Capt. Chris, who flies the MQ-1 Predator, talks about the role he and his team play in the fight against the Islamic State terror group. Air Force Times agreed to omit his last name and only picture him from the side in order to protect his identity. Photo Credit: Lars Schwetje/Staff

Air Force Times: Target ISIS: Inside the Predator war against the world's most ruthless terrorists

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, Southwest Asia — For Predator pilots like Capt. Jonathan, the fight against the Islamic State terror group doesn’t stop.

For more than two years, the Air Force has conducted strikes and other missions in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve and — as with other wars conducted in recent years — the MQ-1 Predator drone has been one of the U.S. military’s central weapons in the fight against the Islamic State.

Hellfire-armed remotely piloted aircraft are in the air virtually around the clock in this region, and typically there are multiple Predators in the air at any given time, providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, close-air support and airstrikes during their 24-hour missions.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: A lot of details in this report.

This U.S. Spy Base Is The Heart of The U.S. Program To Conduct Global ‘Kill Or Capture’ Missions

© Nigel Roddis / Reuters

The Intercept: Inside Menwith Hill

The NSA’s British Base at the Heart of U.S. Targeted Killing

THE NARROW ROADS are quiet and winding, surrounded by rolling green fields and few visible signs of life beyond the occasional herd of sheep. But on the horizon, massive white golf ball-like domes protrude from the earth, protected behind a perimeter fence that is topped with piercing razor wire. Here, in the heart of the tranquil English countryside, is the National Security Agency’s largest overseas spying base.

Once known only by the code name Field Station 8613, the secret base — now called Menwith Hill Station — is located about nine miles west of the small town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. Originally used to monitor Soviet communications through the Cold War, its focus has since dramatically shifted, and today it is a vital part of the NSA’s sprawling global surveillance network.

Read more ....

Update #1: New leaked files reveal more about NSA satellite eavesdropping (The Verge)
Update #2: NSA leaks show US spooks use UK base to launch ‘kill-capture’ missions (RT)

WNU Editor: This news story is going to make many in the U.K. uncomfortable with their role in America's drone program.

Should The U.S. Embrace Drone Warfare?

Michael Hayden, NYT: To Keep America Safe, Embrace Drone Warfare

“ARE you sure they’re there?” the decision maker asks. “They” are Qaeda operatives who have been planning attacks against the United States.

“Yes, sir,” the intelligence analyst replies, ticking off the human and electronic sources of information. “We’ve got good Humint. We’ve been tracking with streaming video. Sigint’s checking in now and confirming it’s them. They’re there.”

The decision maker asks if there are civilians nearby.

“The family is in the main building. The guys we want are in the big guesthouse here.”

“They’re not very far apart.”

“Far enough.”

“Anyone in that little building now?”

“Don’t know. Probably not. We haven’t seen anyone since the Pred got capture of the target. But A.Q. uses it when they pass through here, and they pass through here a lot.”

He asks the probability of killing the targets if they use a GBU-12, a powerful 500-pound, laser-guided bomb.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Former CIA Director Michael Hayden believes that America's drone program is essential .... and in this post he outlines why. What's my take .... after hundreds (if not thousands of drone strikes) .... the threat is getting bigger .... but absent any desire to send men on the ground to confront these threats, America's drone war will probably only escalate.

America's Secret Drone War Against The Islamic State

The Times

Nick Turse, Salon/Tom Dispatch: America’s secret war on ISIL: The African military operation you’ll never hear about

The U.S. Air Force recently "neutralized" 69 enemy combatants -- and has taken meticulous steps to cover its tracks

On October 7th, at an “undisclosed location” somewhere in “Southwest Asia,” men wearing different types of camouflage and dun-colored boots gathered before a black backdrop adorned with Arabic script. They were attending a ceremony that mixed solemnity with celebration, the commemoration of a year of combat that left scores of their enemies slain. One of their leaders spoke of comraderie and honor, of forging a family and continuing a legacy.

While this might sound like the description of a scene from an Islamic State (IS) video or a clip from a militia battling them, it was, in fact, a U.S. Air Force “inactivation ceremony.” There, Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Drake handed over to Colonel John Orchard the “colors” of his drone unit as it slipped into an ethereal military limbo. But that doesn’t mean the gathering had no connection to the Islamic State.

It did.

Previous Post: The U.S. Wants To Deploy Drones To North Africa To Monitor The Islamic State

WNU Editor: Bottom line .... the success of these military operations has spurred a massive growth and expansion of US military bases in Africa .... 60 U.S. military outposts according to this report.

Is America's Drone Program Working In Yemen?

Patrick Fallon / Reuters

Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic: How America’s Drone War in Yemen Strengthens al-Qaeda

The U.S. must “stop pursuing policies bound to enrage and embitter Yemenis who might otherwise be neutral,” an expert on the country argues.

Jillian Schwedler, a political-science professor in New York, spent several years during the 1990s living, traveling, and conducting interviews in Yemen, where she traversed unmarked roads in all-terrain vehicles. “What strikes me now,” she writes in a new essay about the country, “is how most Islamists saw jihadi groups as having no place in Yemeni politics.”

Today that has changed.

​Some people in Yemen who once opposed attacks on foreign countries like the United States are becoming more willing to give terrorists like al-Qaeda space to operate.

In her expert opinion, America’s drone war is largely responsible for that shift.

Update: Is the U.S. drone program in Yemen working? -- Jillian Schwedler, Lawfare

WNU Editor: There are a lot of things that are wrong in Yemen right now .... the U.S. drone program is not the big problem, The big problem is the sectarian civil war, the involvement of outside powers in this conflict,  and the failure of Yemen to function as normal state.

U.S. Drones Are Proving To Be Deadly Against The Islamic State

REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Handout

Arthur Herman and William Luti, Defense One: How America’s Drones Can Defeat ISIS

Critics of airstrikes over Iraq and Syria should give credit where it’s due: US sustained drone strikes are doing the job.

As Defense Secretary Ashton Carter settles into office, a formidable challenge awaits him: eradicating the menace of the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Syria and Iraq. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Carter reiterated that he and the Obama administration hope “with our air power and other kinds of assistance, [to] inflict defeat on ISIS, and then make it a lasting defeat.”

Critics inside and outside the Pentagon have repeatedly warned that our current limited use of air power makes that goal virtually impossible to achieve. But too little credit has been given to the success of America’s drone fleet against ISIS so far, and too little has been said about the kind of sustained drone mission that is needed going forward to secure U.S. gains against ISIS.

WNU Editor: You will eventually need boots on the ground to defeat the Islamic State .... but drones have proven themselves to not only be valuable in providing intelligence and reconnaissance, but also in launching attacks. There is also the psychological component .... the enemy is aware that you are always above them.

No U.S. Drone War In Iraq

DOD

U.S. Rules Out A New Drone War In Iraq -- John Hudson, The Cable/Foreign Policy

For weeks, Iraqi officials have been publicly floating the idea of using American drones to hit the increasingly lethal al-Qaeda-affiliated militants on their soil. But the ordinarily drone-friendly Obama administration is apparently in no mood to open up a new front in global campaign of unmanned attacks. An administration official tells The Cable that American drone strikes in Iraq are now off the table.

Though neither Iraqi nor U.S. officials will say who called off the drones, it's no secret who began discussing them in the first place. In an August 17 trip to Washington, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters that Baghdad is seeking U.S. advisers, air surveillance or drone strikes to combat al-Qaeda's grip on the country. "We cannot fight these increasing terrorist" threats alone, he said. Speaking of drone strikes specifically, he said as long as they were used to "target al-Qaeda and their bases," without "collateral damage," Iraqis would welcome them.

Read more ....

My Comment: Not surprised by this U.S. reluctance to get involved in Iraq's sectarian troubles .... after-all ... the U.S. learned what could happen when they "bought that t-shirt" when they invaded Iraq in 2003?

Barack Obama’s Rules For Drones Could Shape The New Global Laws Of War

Out Of The Shadows -- The Economist

Barack Obama’s rules for drones could shape the new global laws of war.

WHEN it comes to lethal drone strikes against foreign targets, America’s government and Congress should be aware that “what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”, says John Bellinger, for eight years a government lawyer charged with explaining George W. Bush’s global war on terror to allies.

China and Russia are just two of the powers that may soon launch their own fleets of unmanned aircraft against suspected foes. It is not too far-fetched to imagine a near future in which a Russian drone targets a Chechen radical based in neighbouring Georgia, say, who appears immune from capture while apparently plotting an imminent strike on Russian targets.

Read more ....

My Comment: After years of using drones .... now is the perfect time to have a public debate on this policy.

China Is Emerging As A Real Force In The Drone Warfare Market

China Makes Waves As New Force In Drone Warfare -- Washington Times

China is emerging as a real force in the drone warfare market, with aerospace firms developing and showcasing unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, that rival what’s produced in the United States.

The Associated Press reported that Chinese firms have recently unveiled UAVs that are eerily similar to the Predator, Global Hawk and Reaper models used by the CIA and by the U.S. Air Force. Military analysts say Chinese drone technology is still behind America’s and Israel’s — but that it’s catching up quickly.

“My sense is that China is moving into large-scale deployments of UAVs,” said Ian Easton, one of two researchers who wrote a report on China’s drone program for the Project 2049 Institute think tank, AP said.

Read more ....

Update: China emerging as new force in drone warfare -- AP

My Comment: China wants to flood the market with numerous (and cheaper) drones .... while looking at U.S. drone weaknesses. Something tells me that the Chinese are going to succeed.