“Due to its modular and multi-role nature, our adversaries will need to assume that their every move in the maritime domain is subject to our surveillance and that every [sub drone] is capable of deploying a wide range of effects, including lethal ones,” says Rear Adm. Peter Quinn.
By Colin Clark“Once the target is identified, a decision is made among the swarm, and based on the target size, shape, and category, they decide how many drones are needed to destroy the target,” the company’s CEO told Breaking Defense.
By Riad KahwajiCrucial to the promise of MORFIUS is its ability to zap many drones at once in mid-air, far from the friendly vehicles, buildings, or people actively being defended.
By Kelsey AthertonAs defense budgets face post-COVID cuts, everyone wants to axe “legacy” systems. But the services define “legacy” very differently from defense reformers.
By Mark Cancian and Adam SaxtonThe new simulation environment will use ‘digital twins’ to rapidly test and iterate “collaborative autonomous networked technologies,” AFRL explains.
By Theresa HitchensIn April, the Yuma, Ariz. test range will host a competition of “low collateral damage” countermeasures designed to stop mini-drones without firing a shot. But can such a restrained approach stop the drone swarms Russia and others are developing?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.DoD has “so many hundreds of programs that we really couldn’t do a fair evaluation of each individual activity,” Mark Lewis, director of modernization in the Research and Engineering office, said today.
By Theresa Hitchens“They’re willing to say, ‘I’m willing to sacrifice the lives of American servicemen and women, I’m willing to take more civilian casualties … on the off chance that sometime in the future this weapon will exist.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“You want to kill a swarm of things — whatever that thing is — lasers are not really a swarm-killing tool. They can kill things fast, but they can’t kill a swarm of things fast enough.”
By Colin ClarkDon’t fear robots who rebel against their human masters. Fear robots that obey the wrong human.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“These are engines that would fit on your tabletop,” said Kratos exec Stacey Rock. “We don’t want hundreds of ‘em, we want thousands [of drones] to overwhelm the threat.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.TARDEC, soon to be part of the new Army Futures Command, is exploring a wide range of Israeli robots. But IAI is already looking into the next generation: “flocks” or swarms of robotic systems that communicate with each other and collaborate to accomplish their mission.
By Arie EgoziUsing lessons from places like Niger, commandos are looking for drones to carry blood to injured troops, as well as small systems that can fly indoors, through tunnels, swarm, and operate when being jammed.
By Paul McLearyThe Air Force wants more AI, cloud computing, autonomous drone swarms and thousands of tiny satellites. But most of these projects are only now getting off the ground at the Pentagon, making the service’s new “Flight Path” a little cloudy.
By Paul McLeary