“What degree of human involvement should there be in the use of force?” Paul Scharre on weapon autonomy and the human role in future warfighting
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U.S. Army recently tested a new, classified loitering munition, a type of weapon sometimes referred to as a "suicide drone," as part of an advanced warfighting exercise called Edge 21. An experimental network of manned and unmanned aircraft was also used to first locate and then cue those weapons, officially known as Joint Man-in-the-Loop Loitering Munitions, to their targets.
Edge 21, which wrapped up recently, was a two-week-long Army-led exercise at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah that also involved elements of the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps. The event was focused heavily on future aviation assets and associated concepts of operations, with the scenario revolving around simulated operations targeting enemy forces spread across a notional island chain in the Pacific. Edge 21, with Edge standing for "Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise," was intended to help inform Army's broader Project Convergence initiative. Project Convergence is exploring advanced networking and other capabilities, with a heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.
A critical case in point is a pair of new jamming pods integrated on the MOSA-equipped Grey Eagles. One pod came from the Army’s airborne electronic warfare program of record, MFEW-Air, which is now running “months and months” ahead of schedule, Rugen told reporters. The other came from a program too sensitive to name in public, but, he said, “we were very happy with what we saw.”
The Army had neglected long-range electronic warfare since the Cold War, especially amidst the urgency for short-range jamming of roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq. But EW is a major strength of Russia and China, and a critical weakness for a US military increasingly reliant on radio networks.
Electronic warfare systems “had a much larger role [in EDGE21] than what we’ve seen in the past,” Rugen said, jamming Air Force emitters simulating enemy transmissions. The bad guys didn’t try to jam back in this exercise, but they will in Project Convergence.
While he can’t divulge many details about electronic warfare, Rugen said, “we’re probably going to raise the bar going into PC 21, because of the number of successes we saw out there at Dugway.”
After five years of tests, research and development, the Belgian company Sky-Hero is launching the Loki Mk2, a tactical intervention drone intended for indoor use. The device fulfills all the expectations of civil protection forces: fast handling, 100% on-board technology, maneuverability, precision, daytime and night-time observation and evolution capability, with a sturdy, light design. The Belgian company has already equipped the main American, German, French, Belgian, Swiss and many other special forces.
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The crash and subsequent investigation under the direction of the Israeli Ministry of Transport has delayed delivery, scheduled initially for late 2019, until next year.
“According to the accident report, the crash was due to the fact that the V-tail unit became detached from the fuselage of the drone due to unexpectedly strong oscillations. The drone could thus no longer be controlled and crashed,” the Swiss government said.
“The Israeli manufacturing company Elbit Systems Ltd was able to eliminate the cause of this problem with regard to further production of the drone, without changing the drone’s design.
"The damage is to be borne entirely by Elbit Systems Ltd. The crash occurred on a test flight of the drone. This resulted in total loss of the drone, but no damage to persons or third-party damage.”
An upgraded version of the Hermes 900 will now be supplied to Switzerland.
One of the enhancements is the provision of a heavy fuel engine, which will enable the aircraft to achieve an increased rate of climb after take-off – a key requirement in mountainous country.