Jason Lambright has a few thoughts about drones over at his blog, The Interstellar Valley. Since he’s actually fought under drone cover, they’re worth reading, and not necessarily what you’d imagine.
I have some degree of outdated experience with battlefield drones; nothing makes you feel more naked, vulnerable, then knowing that a Predator or something is loitering overhead. Loitering and waiting on the excuse to drop ordnance on some jerk’s head. Why, you ask, would I feel vulnerable towards friendly drones? The flying, whispering death that made my long vigils behind a machine-gun superfluous?
…
I was hideously aware of the capabilities of our air cover, whether human or not. When aviation assets hit a “target,” well, the results are dramatic. Disgusting. Think about it. 25mm rounds meant for armor hitting some poor bastard with an AK. The list goes on, increasing in destructive power. I always thought about friendly fire, or some horrible mistake. Or of me, putting myself in the enemies’ shoes. Creeping up in the pitch dark, only to be dismembered by something I could not see before I came into range with my shoddy and poorly maintained arms.
So, with almost zero surprise I paid some degree of attention to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where the Azerbaijani forces decimated the well-armed and equipped Armenian forces with ingenious and clever deployment of drones.
Why do you suppose that it was DARPA funding the autonomous car challenges, all those years ago? The radio link to a human pilot/controller is the obvious weak link of the "video game" scenario, so just make the things autonomous. Silicon isn't very heavy or expensive.
Identifying targets is probably the rub, then. By mobile phone number, perhaps?
Why do you suppose that it was DARPA funding the autonomous car challenges, all those years ago? The radio link to a human pilot/controller is the obvious weak link of the "video game" scenario, so just make the things autonomous. Silicon isn't very heavy or expensive.
Identifying targets is probably the rub, then. By mobile phone number, perhaps?